Reconnaissance
by Lyvance Callele
Summary: On a mission to gain information against a new enemy, a group of ANBU catches a glimpse of "The Devil" which looked more like Uchiha Sasuke. This time, Tsunade sends Naruto out on a reconnaissance mission with his friends. Sequel to "Scroll."
1. Chapter 1

_Thank you all so much for reading "Scroll." _^ v ^

_Before anything else, I would like to have a moment of silence for the unexpected (at least in my case) demise of Hyuuga Neji. I'm still hoping Kishimoto revives you. _* n *

_On to the program - as expected, a lot of readers thought I was kidding when I noted that Chapter 55 is the last chapter for "Scroll." It is. _^ v ^_ Note the phrase "for 'Scroll.'"_

_It happened especially when I uploaded the "Happy Holidays" chapter. LOL! It always happens, I guess. _

_I'm mighty glad though that there were still readers who weren't swayed, by my confusing chapter uploads (_^ v ^ _do forgive me. I just really love puzzling people, including myself! LOL) __to think I was going to continue Scroll. _

_Three cheers to _**Princes Auna, I** (_I really liked that statement about asking Finland to knock me on the head and give me moral support for the sequel! LOL _^ v ^_), _**BelieverinMusic,**_ and_**moonfairy014.**

_My sincere apologies too for writing a crappy ending in "Scroll" (I personally liked it because I was planning to write the next events under a different story title, but you didn't know that so no one else to blame there but me, hehehe _^ v ^_ ). I can't really blame all of you for thinking something along the lines of "it's all just going to end up crap so why read the freaking sequel?" _

_I still thank all of you for helping me grow with your reviews. _* v * xoxo

_And again, I'm not going to promise everyone here what the ending will be because for me (this just applies to me so please don't think I'm judging other writers _* v * _After all_, _I'm one of the **really** insane ones in the world)__it just defeats the purpose of writing and uploading the succeeding chapters. _

_So without further ado, here is the sequel to "Scroll." _

_BEWARE: May become as annoying as Scroll. _^ v ^_ Naruto is not mine (If it was, Neji would still be alive and meditating)_

_HAPPY NEW YEAR!_

* * *

"The Devil," Ouga whimpered as he sat on the floor of the white padded room.

They were in Konoha when he regained his consciousness. And the first thing he did when he opened his eyes was let out a blood-curdling scream. He whimpered and struggled to hide himself in corners, under tables, and even under carpets.

His blood-shot eyes stared at everything as if it was against him – every furniture, every wall, every door, every ceiling and every face was a spy sent by what he called "The Devil."

The Hokage watched the crazed man rock himself back and forth – his eyes stared blankly at the padded floor as he whispered what sounded like prayers.

Luckily, Ouga's insanity made him more cooperative than they expected. He answered every question they threw at him, honestly, without second thought. It was as if lying, even just about the most mundane thing in his life - like when was the last time he took a bath - would instantly kill him.

"We've checked the information he gave us," Ibiki told Tsunade. "It's all true."

Tsunade sighed. "As much as I want to be happy about this…situation," she said. "This is just…wrong."

"It's too easy," Ibiki said. "But if he **had** been subjected to enough mental torture, this is to be expected."

Tsunade frowned. "You really think it's him?"

"I hope it's him," Ibiki said. "And I hope he's still on our side. Don't ask me that question again though."

"Sharingan," Tsunade muttered.

"Red devil eyes," Ouga hissed, his limbs suddenly trembling with fear. "Eyes made of blood and darkness," he shrieked, hurling his head on the padded floor.

"Sedate him!" Ibiki ordered a medic nin standing by the door. The medic immediately injected a clear liquid into Ouga's veins.

Ouga struggled to stay awake, thrashing on the floor as if it grew claws and screaming he would do anything the devil wanted him to do.

Tsunade watched Ouga crawl to a corner of the room, scratching the padded walls for help – wiping his body fluids on the white cushions.

After a moment or so, his eyes succumbed to the sedative. Ouga fell unconscious on the padded floor.

"This is one hell of a Tsukuyomi," Tsunade said.

She had been trying to cure Ouga of the effects of the illusion since he arrived in Konoha. But none of the techniques she knew had worked…so far. It seemed…different than the tsukuyomi she had encountered in the past.

"Too bad Uchiha Sasuke didn't join ANBU," Ibiki said.

* * *

Jirotaiku swung his head to the left, avoiding a speeding kunai aiming for his forehead. The blade caught a few strands of his red hair.

He smirked. "You're attacking a resting ninja?" he asked, raising a brow at Naotake who was standing on a tree branch across the one he sat on.

"Damn it, Jiro!" Naotake angrily said. "Take me seriously!"

Jirotaiku yawned. "Take **me** seriously," he said. "Running to Ame and back in three days isn't something you just recover easily from!"

"Then answer my question!" Naotake said, glaring at Jirotaiku.

Jirotaiku just rolled his eyes. "I told you," he said. "I don't know a thing about what you're asking me."

"Stop lieing!" Naotake growled. "Your twin wasn't the only one who saw you talking to Uchiha before he disappeard."

"Whoa-ho-ho!" Jirotaiku said, chuckling. "You got that wrong, Nao-chan. Uzumaki **Naruto** was the last ninja Uchiha spoke to before he vanished."

"**STOP CALLING ME THAT!**" Naotake said. "I didn't mean it literally and you know it!"

"Why are you even so…bothered... about this gossip?" Jirotaiku asked.

"**You're** not bothered that Uchiha could be out there playing 'god'?" Naotake asked. "What if you see him in one of your missions? What if he sees you and-"

"And what..?" Jirotaiku asked, looking disinterested at what Naotake was saying. "First of all, if I see him in one of my missions and he **dared** to stop me from finishing it, **I** will **kill** him. Second, did the rumours say anything about those ANBU ending up dead when they saw, who people now presume to be, Uchiha Sasuke?"

Naotake frowned. "No," he answered.

In fact, when he realized it was Uchiha Sasuke they were looking at that night, Sasuke vanished. They tried to run after him – track him down using his chakra but…he just vanished.

An extremely curious group of genin, seeing Ouga rushed into the emergency room and noticing how the drunkard seemed trapped in some kind of illusion, figured Ouga was a victim of the legendary Sharingan. And the only existing Sharingan believed to inflict such a terrible tsukuyomi was a missing ninja named Uchiha Sasuke.

Gossip spread. And since no one in ANBU, the ranks of Jounin, and even the Hokage spoke against it, the news spread throughout Konoha as an entertaining rumour.

Imagine how Sasuke looked like a year later, the mindless female teenagers and little girls would say – how ragged and masculine he could be… Imagine how ruthless Uchiha was a year later, the idiotic ninja dreamers would chatter – how worthy as an opponent he could be…as if Uchiha hadn't been one from the time he was a genin.

Naotake sighed. He was sure it was Sasuke he saw on that roof. But why he took Ouga, why he tortured him, and why he wore a stupid jingling bell in his ear irked his curiosity.

And Jirotaiku who had been rumoured to be part of a conspiracy with Sasuke, the Hokage, the Elders, and Hatake Kakashi – Naotake was sure – was the key to answering his questions.

Where exactly did Uchiha Sasuke go? And why did he wait for six months, supposedly doing a few ANBU missions here and there, training toddlers with Naruto, and helping out in jounin missions, before he ran away? What did he wait for?

And the most important question that Naotake knew had something to do with the missing Uchiha was this –

"Where is Haruno Sakura?" Naotake asked.

Jirotaiku just smirked. "You're not the only one who's asked me that, loverboy," he said.

"I know," Naotake replied, trying hard not to hurl another kunai at Jirotaiku for the 'loverboy' taunt. "But when will you stop lieing?"

Jirotaiku chuckled and jumped down from the tree, landing lightly on his feet. Naotake followed suit, landing across from him.

"Well?" Naotake asked.

Jirotaiku grinned at Naotake. "I told my brother I knew nothing," he said. "What makes you more special than him, that I would tell you I know something about it?"

Naotake frowned. "You do know you just told me you **really** know something about this, right?"

Jirotaiku laughed. "You're talking to one of the craziest ninjas in Konoha," he said. "…To the best gambler in the whole of fire country – to the most untrustworthy ninja of the Hokage. How do you know I'm telling you the truth? How do you know I'm not just playing with you?"

Naotake shook his head and turned away. "Uzumaki will know about the rumours once he get's back from his mission with Hatake," he said.

Jirotaiku smiled. "So..?"

"So there's no point in denying things from me," Naotake said before he walked away.

When Naotake was out of earshot, Jirotaiku chuckled. "Uchiha Sasuke," he muttered. "You just had to be overly dramatic! …Idiot."

* * *

"**WHO THE HELL WERE THE ANBU IN THAT MISSION?!**" Naruto shouted, pinning a chunin against the wall by the ninja's collar.

He just arrived in Konoha with Kakashi, and Sai when he heard the academy toddlers betting on how many people Uchiha Sasuke could have killed in the past year to make him, what Ouga called, "the devil."

Kakashi sighed and turned to leave. "I'm submitting the report to the Hokage," he said, waving a hand at them as he walked away.

They were on their way to Ichiraku at Naruto's request when they saw a chunin who boasted about his immense knowledge on the gossip. When Naruto tried to ask him where **exactly** the ANBU saw Sasuke, the chunin turned out to know nothing about the news' important specifics.

Naruto naturally thought he was just lying so he decided to pry out the answers with brute force.

"**WHERE DID THEY SEE SASUKE?**" Naruto asked again.

"I-I don't-" said the struggling, young chunin. He had heard about Naruto being scary but not **that** scary. And to think he hadn't used his chakra yet!

Sai was just smiling behind Naruto. "You actually have a future in ANBU, dickless."

"SHUT UP, SAI!" Naruto growled, still glared coldly at the chunnin in his grasp. He didn't even ask for the chunnin's name.

"Let him go, Naruto," Kiba said, walking toward them with Akamaru, Shino, Chouji and Shikamaru. "You were the one who let Uchiha go AWOL in the first place, Idiot."

"I'm trying to redeem myself here," Naruto said, turning to face them. "In case you hadn't noticed!"

"Geez," Kiba muttered. "Maybe Sasuke **did** use his sharingan on Naruto that night."

"No way," Chouji said. "Naruto was just being Naruto back there."

"Why **did** you let him leave anyway?" Kiba asked. "And for goodness' sake, let that kid go. He just got his chunin vest!"

Naruto grunted and released the chunnin. The frightened ninja scrambled on the pavement and shakily ran away.

Kiba sighed. "I'll never know how that kid got promoted," he muttered, watching the chunnin flee.

"You didn't watch the final chunnin exam?" Chouji asked.

"We were on a mission," Kiba said, nodding his head toward Shino. "Now where were we?" He turned to Naruto. "Are you going to explain to us exactly what happened to your conversation with Sasuke now that he's up and around?"

Naruto grunted. "Let's eat ramen first," he muttered. "I'm starving."

"Sure," Chouji said. "We're a few blocks away from it anyway."

"Are you eating with us, Sai?" Naruto asked his teammate who just stood there, watching them talk.

"No," Sai answered.

"Oh, right," Naruto said, frowining. "You prefer to draw than listen to what **really** happened there."

Sai smiled. "Correction," he said. "You're dickless ranting of what should have happened there."

Naruto glared at him. "I'm letting that go, **just this once**, because finding Sasuke's more important that breaking your bones."

Kiba rolled his eyes. "This was exactly how Sasuke walked out of the Konoha gates that night, huh?"

"Shut up!" Naruto yelled.

Shikamaru yawned. "Troublesome," he muttered. "You know I'm just taking a lunch break now, right?"

"Yeah, let's go!" Chouji said. "I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry," Kiba muttered.

* * *

"What do you want to do?" Kakashi asked.

He submitted a report to the Hokage and while in her office, he asked about the rumours on his former student.

"I want to send a team to spy on the group plotting against us," Tsunade answered, leaning back on her chair and looking at a map spread open on her desk. "Thanks to the insanely cooperative source in our mental facility, we've pinpointed their location. I'm just worried about how he described the plans against us would be carried out."

"You mean the relics he said he sold to the enemy," Kakashi said.

"That's the one," Tsunade said, nodding. "Ouga said he kept one, but 'the devil' took it from him." Tsunade looked at Kakashi. "If this 'devil' he's talking about is really Uchiha Sasuke, we have to retrieve him."

Kakashi sighed. "He knows something about those relics," he muttered.

"And there are two possibilities on why he knows about it," Tsunade said. "One, he's also after the group who's using them, and two – he's working against us."

"If he's working against us, why would he leave Ouga in an open-book state?" Kakashi asked.

Tsunade looked at the map again. "To lead us into a trap," she said.

Silence filled the room.

"And here I thought one year later, I can cross him out on my list of troublesome ninjas," Tsunade muttered.

"Perhaps you can," Kakashi said.

* * *

"So let me get this straight," Kiba said, after slurping some ramen noodles. "You saw **something** in his eyes that night that told you, you can let him go?"

"Yup," Naruto said, devouring in his third ramen bowl.

Kiba just stared at Naruto, who was sitting on his left. Chouji, sitting next to Kiba and Shikamaru, just kept eating his ramen. Shikamaru smirked. Shino, sitting beside Shikamaru, sighed.

"Dude," Kiba began. "That is so gay."

Naruto choked.

Shikamaru chuckled. "That's the most sense-filled statement I've heard today," he muttered.

"I agree," Chouji said, wiping his mouth.

Shino shook his head. "Why am I here again?" he whispered to himself.

Naruto quickly punched Kiba squarely in the face. "**I AM NOT GAY!**" he yelled. "That stupid Teme is!"

Kiba rolled his eyes and rubbed his bleeding nose. "I'm letting this go because you just gave me a reason to visit that cute medic nin in the hospital," he muttered. "Do fill us in with what you saw in Sasuke's eyes then, if it's not sparks and hearts and all those mushy gay stuff."

Chouji laughed. Shikamaru yawned. Shino decided to talk to his beetles.

Naruto sighed and stared at his empty bowl of ramen. "Have you guys ever wondered what Sasuke would be like if…his clan didn't go crazy?" he quietly asked.

Shikamaru glanced at Naruto. Kiba and Chouji just stared at him.

Naruto chuckled and shook his head. "It was freaky," he said.

"_Is she alive?"_

"Sasuke smiled," Naruto continued – his thoughts fixed at the memory of Sasuke's face that night. "And that smile…I hadn't seen him smile like that since we were genin! Heck! I hadn't really seen it before! He was so…excited…and sure… He was very…hopeful."

Leaves rustled in the breeze.

"This is **so** gay," Kiba muttered, slapping his face.

"How did we get into this kind of conversation?!" Chouji cried, banging his head on the counter.

"It's sweet," Shino muttered.

Shikamaru smirked and stood up. "I'm heading back," he said.

"Eh..?" Naruto said staring at Shikamaru. "I'm not finished with my story!"

"I've heard enough gay romance for the day," Shikamaru said, stepping out to the street. "Actually, scratch that. I've heard enough for the rest of my life."

"IT WASN'T LIKE THAT!" Naruto yelled – blood filling his cheeks.

"Sure," Shikamaru said, stretching his arms up. "Troublesome." He turned to leave. "I appreciate you're 'coming out' moment though so I'm giving you a tip," he said. He glanced at Naruto and smirked. "They think Sasuke's part of the group plotting against Konoha."

"**WHAT?**!" Naruto, Kiba, and Chouji exclaimed, standing up from their seats.

"That's top secret information," Shino muttered.

* * *

Naruto's fists crashed on the table.

Tsunade glared at him.

"Tell me you're not considering Sasuke as an enemy!" Naruto shouted, glaring back at Tsunade.

Tsunade sighed and tried to control her temper. "Let me guess," she muttered. "Some…troublesome jounin told you."

"You really think Sasuke's planning to destroy Konoha? **AGAIN**? You're better than this, Baa-chan!"

A loud crash echoed in the Hokage's office.

Kiba and Chouji, who were also in the office, winced. Shino just stared at the scene.

Naruto's face was planted on the floor.

"What's going on here?" Neji asked, raising a brow at the scene as he walked into the Hokage's office. Shikamaru was on his tail, rolling his eyes.

"I am you're Hokage!" Tsunade growled at Naruto.

Naruto stiffly lifted his head up. "I know that," he hissed. He looked up and glared at her. "But as a Hokage, you **know** when someone is being wrongly accused!"

Tsunade frowned. She knew Naruto would act that way once he heard the news. "He knows something about what's going on."

"THAT DOESN'T MEAN HE'S BEHIND IT!" Naruto reasoned.

Neji sighed. "Of course, it's about the Uchiha," he breathed.

"Do you have proof?" Tsunade asked.

Naruto stiffened and looked away.

"Exactly," Tsunade said. "The Elders need proof." He then looked up at the others in the room. "That's why I need ninjas for a reconnaissance mission."

Shikamaru smirked.

"I gave you the freedom to choose who should go with you in this mission, Nara," Tsunade said, looking strictly at Shikamaru. "I'm assuming this is your team."

Kiba, Chouji, and Naruto stared confused at Shikamaru. Shino and Neji nodded at each other.

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Shikamaru answered.

"We're on a mission..?" Kiba asked.

"You said reconnaissance mission," Chouji said, looking at the Hokage. "You're sending us to spy on the enemy?"

"No," Tsunade answered. "We already have ANBU in charge of that mission. You'll be spying on someone else."

Naruto stood up – his blue eyes wide with realization. "You want us to spy on Sasuke."


	2. Chapter 2

_Thank you all so much for reading, following and reviewing "Reconnaisance." _^ v ^

_I'm still amazed at the number of readers for this fanfic! _

_That's exactly why I loved the ending to "Scroll," _**2lazy2createAnAccount!** _(That's a witty guest name you have there! _^ v ^) _I thought Sasuke deserved it! LOL! I'm evil. _

_"what happened with Sakura and Sasuke" - ^ v ^ I'm afraid you'll have to wait for the chapter that answers that question, _**happycupcakes096.**

_Wow! Someone's on track! _**Reignashii** _You have a point on Neji's message ending up meaningless if he dies. But blast it! I thought he deserved to survive the ninja war. :(_

_I'm happy a lot of you liked the first chapter of the sequel _^ v ^_ I hope you enjoy the future ones too. _

_Here is this week's chapter. Do tell me what you think about it!_

_Naruto is not mine. _

* * *

Spying on Uchiha Sasuke – of course it's too good to be true. After all, Uchiha Sasuke was nowhere to be found!

Naruto sped through the branches, frowning at the path he was taking.

Tsunade's words still echoed in his ears.

"No," the Hokage said, frowning at Naruto. "…Unless of course you have any idea on where he is now."

It annoyed Naruto, but the Hokage had a point. It was impossible to spy on Sasuke when you can't physically be where he was.

"What would we be doing then?" Kiba asked.

"You'll be spying on a colleaugue of Itaro Ouga," Tsunade answered.

"Who..?" Naruto asked.

"I thought you heard the rumours," Tsunade said, raising a brow.

"Oh! He's the crazy old man in the hospital then," Naruto said.

"Yes," Tsunade answered. "Shikamaru will give you the details. I need you out of Konoha and on your way by the end of the day."

"Stop daydreaming," Naruto suddenly heard Shikamaru speak beside him. He glanced at their team leader.

"You wanted me to be in this mission," Naruto said.

Shikamaru kept his eyes on the path. "If worse comes to worst," he said. "You're the only one he'll listen to."

Right… Itaro Ouga's colleague supposedly has one thing Itaro Ouga had before he was brought to Konoha – a relic. And if the intelligence was right, Sasuke or "the devil" would take the relic from Ouga's colleague.

If Naruto and the others were lucky enough, they would see Sasuke and get him back to Konoha.

Was it a wise decision, though? …Capture Sasuke and interrogate him as if they didn't grow up with him?

Naruto wasn't planning on taking Sasuke by force. He was planning to talk to him – ask him why he didn't go back to Konoha a year later like he promised, why he tortured the old man, what he knew about the relics, and **where** Sakura was.

"We're just a few miles from the village," Neji announced, deactivating his byakugan. "The coast is clear."

They slowed their pace and jumped down from the trees when they caught sight of the village. They had been travelling northwest for several nights, crossing Kusa, Ame and Ishi. They were supposed to push northwest until they reached a small village where Ouga's friend was supposedly doing his underground business.

* * *

Shikamaru lead them into the village, reserving a room in one of the cheap hotels as traders.

"At last! Something soft to sleep on," Kiba said, yawning as he dropped on the bed. Akamaru was already snoring on the floor.

"You're sure you don't want someone on guard?" Neji asked, as he took a peek at the window. They were on the top floor with a perfect view of the main street and the adjacent alley.

"We'll just get some shut eye," Shikamaru said, taking a seat on one of the beds. "We'll be out of here by sunset. The auction starts when the sun is fully out."

"Is that part of the secret code the insane guy told you?" Kiba asked rolling on the bed.

"Again," Neji said, turning to face them. "You're sure we won't need protection."

"I can keep my insects on guard," Shino said.

"There you have it," Kiba said, smirking at Neji.

"We're merchants," Shikamaru said, looking at Kiba. "Not ninjas."

Kiba and Neji frowned.

"I don't see anything wrong with being careful," Chouji said, sitting on one of the beds.

"Sure," Shikamaru said. "But being too careful in this place wouldn't be good. We're not yet sure about what they're capable of. If we use any form of chakra to protect us, or take measures that aren't usually done by merchants we'll get into trouble."

"You really think they won't try anything against us?" Neji muttered, disappointed at Shikamaru.

Shikamaru looked up at him. "That's the order," he said. "Either you obey it or you throw yourself out."

Neji grunted and walked to one of the empty beds. He patted the cushion several times and rested his head on the pillow.

Kiba, Shino and Chouji did the same. Only Naruto remained on his feet, staring at the floor. He stood by the door, listening to the silence in the hallway.

Shikamaru watched him for a moment but crawled to the pillow afterwards, knowing what exactly was running inside Naruto's mind.

"Is he going to be there?" Naruto quietly asked.

Shino, Neji, Kiba and Shikamaru stiffly glanced at him. They had noticed how quiet he had become since their trip. And they knew, in that question, that he wasn't just asking about their target.

"It's his auction," Shikamaru answered, resting his head on the pillow. "He facilitates the event."

Naruto nodded. "Let's get some sleep then," he said, walking to the empty bed near the window.

* * *

Jirotaiku watched the warm flickering lights dance in the dark.

Their mission was to keep tabs on the group that was plotting against Konoha. Unfortunately, Ouga didn't know the exact hideout of the enemy. But he was kind enough to tell them where they usually went to drink sake.

Jirotaiku peeped slightly into the crack of the closed window, his mask tucked in his side. He took charge of following a suspicious man in a deep purple robe walking drunkily down the street. The others took charge of searching the area for more suspicious-looking people.

The man Jiro was following walked into a cheap motel with a barely-covered woman in his arm. Jiro followed them from outside as they walked up to the third floor of the old building. He climbed the wall, carefully peeping through windows to keep an eye on them.

And sure enough, with dozens of lit candles warming the room the two walked into, Jiro was given a front seat at an adult reality show.

Jiro didn't blink. He watched the man chuckle as the woman undressed her self. Something was **wrong**. He could feel it.

It wasn't just the drunken-like state of the woman. It was just **something** with the man that he couldn't quite put a finger on. But he knew something there was wrong.

He didn't train in the woods with Houren for nothing, after all. And the long sleep didn't keep him from remembering what he learned.

He would **know** it anywhere!

Jiro could only see the back of the man's head…and his bare, toned back. Seduction, passion, desire… Jiro wanted to vomit and flee, but he could feel his senses tingle with alarm.

Something was going to happen. And it was coming soon.

When the scene reached a point where Jirotaiku wanted to pull out his stained eyes, it happened.

The woman screamed and with it was a muted hiss.

Jirotaiku froze. He saw something spray in the air, staining the walls.

The hiss remained. The man stayed hunched over the woman's body on the bed. And on the woman's limp arm – the one on the crumpled sheet – flowed a line of dark liquid.

Jirotaiku swallowed, feeling something warm touch the skin just below his left eye – the eye he had been using to spy on the man. The scent of burning flesh touched Jiro's nose,

The man chuckled and stood up from the bed, leaving a blood-stained body of a wide-eyed naked woman on the silk sheets. Her chest was ripped open revealing a heart burned heart.

Jirotaiku squeezed his eyes shut, listening as the man put on his robe. He rang a bell and the door to the room creaked open.

"The usual," he heard the man speak in a proud low voice. "Send her greens to me."

"Yes, sir," replied what seemed like a motel attendant.

Jirotaiku forced himself to stay still. With his heart pounding with anxiety, moving away from the window would give his position away.

The door creaked shut – footfalls echoed on the floor…a whush from something heavy being dragged across the sheets…a loud thump from something massive falling on the floor…a slight grunt from the floor… a click on the door…the screech of the hinges… and a heavy thump that locked the door.

Jirotaiku listened further, feeling the presence of the man he was following vanish into the ground floor… the presence of the motel attendant vanish into the stairs… the room remain shut from the world and empty of life.

Jirotaiku quickly tweaked the window open, quietly sliding the shutter up and squeazing himself inside the dark room. He was lucky the window was large enough for a burglar to sneak in.

If the security in the place was that lax, it meant that its owner knew no one would dare to sneak into the place – and that was **not** a good sign.

Jirotaiku stealthily looked around, seeing the spray patterns on the walls and curtains. He kept his toes from the drops of stain on the floor knowing that a minute smudge would warn them of his presence.

He examined the bed soaked in the same dark stain that sprayed the walls. On the center, on where the woman once was, as a dark burn mark…shaped like a spade.

Jirotaiku winced and quickly got out of the room through the window. He locked the shutter behind him and hastily leaped away from the motel building.

He was right. The man he followed was one of the enemies. And if his deductions were correct, he was carrying a relic.

Jirotaiku cursed under his breath. That must be why Sasuke hadn't returned to Konoha. That must be why he made his appearance theatrical enough to catch every Konoha ninja's attention.

This wasn't like dealing with Orochimaru or Uchiha Madara. And dealing with a crazed, artifact-enforced Yoake barely equates to what they were facing.

Jirotaiku tried to think what he should do next. Sasuke didn't make Ouga talk so Konoha could spy and stop its enemies. He did it because he knew the Hokage would send Jirotaiku out in the field and decipher his message.

The next step then was to send the message back to the Hokage. And that would require an order to retreat.

Now how would he convince his superior to abandon their mission?

* * *

Shikamaru led the others down the street.

Apparently there was a festival in the village and people were marching down the road with lit paper lanterns and wide smiles on their faces. Drum beats and cheers echoed in the evening air.

Shikamaru and the others were in their kimonos. They had expensive-looking red haori draped over their shoulders – each coat embroidered with gold silk threads in various patterns. They walked into the celebrating crowd, looking around as tourists with a purpose would.

They passed several alleys, turned to several intersections…

"New in the trade..?" Shikamaru heard someone whisper at him.

He raised his brow at the brawny man wearing an expensive kimono smirking at him. He too had a red haori on – one embroidered with silk gold thread.

"I was sent here in behalf of my father," Shikamaru answered. The others noted the presence of the man beside him. They glanced at him but didn't dare to do anything more. Shikamaru ordered them to act like regular merchants – cunning and powerful but not too much. "I'm presuming you've been here numerous times," Shikamaru continued.

The brawny man chuckled. "I have," he answered. "You and your guards there just follow my lead."

Naruto, Kiba and Chouji glanced at each other.

They thought dressing up that way was part of being merchants. Apparently their clothing meant something more in the place. They glanced at the brawny man's cloths and noticed the toad embroidery on his back. Shikamaru's haori had a poised crane.

Behind the man was another group of men, nodding at them. Only Neji nodded back.

Kiba noticed that the embroideries on the men's haori were similar to theirs. Apparently Naruto, Chouji, Shino, Neji and he were wearing uniforms – guard uniforms.

Shikamaru smirked. "You don't happen to know Hikogaeru-sama, do you?"

The man laughed. "Ah! You're Tsuru's boy, alright! Just call me Oji-san," he said.

Shikamaru smiled. "Thank you, Oji-san," he said, bowing slightly. "My name is Shiro."

"Ah yes," Hikogaeru said, nodding. "…The cunning one in his nest. I like you, kid. One reminder though – once we enter the hall, you bow to no one else but your self. Understand?"

"Yes, Oji-san," Shikaramaru answered.

Irota chuckled. "My daughter would **love** to meet you," he said. "I'll introduce you to her after the feast."

"That would be an honor," Shikamaru replied, smiling warmly at Hiko.

Kiba, Chouji and Naruto bit their lip.

Ino would **kill** Shikamaru if she found out about this.

* * *

The group went into a dark alley and walked into a cramped doorway that reeked with the scent of rat and sewage.

Akamaru grunted at the scent. Kiba patted his head to tell him he also didn't like the place.

"Nice pooch," one of Hikagaeru's guards said, smiling at Kiba.

Kiba glared icily at him. "He's **not** a pooch," he hissed.

Shikamaru loudly cleared his throat. "My apologies, Oji-san" he said. "He's sensitive in these kinds of things."

"Ah, no worries," Hikagaeru said, chuckling. "Irota here likes dogs. Sorry it came out wrong. He's slightly…lacking."

"Sorry," Irota whispered, bowing at Kiba.

"Uh…yeah," Kiba stiffly muttered, feeling uncomfortable in the situation. Shikamaru was looking straight at him, ordering him to be polite. "S-Sorry too." He bowed quickly and cleared his throat.

"Shall we then?" Hikagaeru asked, raising a smelly drape covering a doorway.

"Indeed," Shikamaru answered, walking into the doorway that led to a dimly lit stone tunnel.

Hikagaeru followed Shikamaru and motioned Neji and the others to follow.

They took several turns and walked down a number of stairs – the temperature around them dropping as they went lower into the ground.

"Otou-san wasn't kidding when he said the business is under ground," Shikamaru said, following Hikagaeru who was leading them further into the stone tunnel.

Hikagaeru chuckled. "That's what I also thought when I first went here," he said. "Your father was right in choosing you to wed my daughter. Has he told you about your engagement with my beautiful princess?"

Kiba, Chouji and Naruto tried hard to keep themselves from laughing.

Hikagaeru didn't look like a toad, but with his massive built, raisin-sized mole on the nose, and pair of thick eyebrows that challenge Gai's… he didn't look like a man who could have a daughter as beautiful as the Konoha girls Kiba, Chouji, and Naruto knew. So when they tried to imagine what Hikagaeru's daughter looked like, they almost failed in their attempt to stay calm and composed.

Neji was rolling his eyes.

"He mentioned it," Shikamaru calmly answered.

Naruto suddenly wondered how much of Shikamaru knew about what was going on. He didn't share that much information about the mission.

But surely Shikamaru wasn't putting them in danger with keeping them in the dark. Or was Naruto the only one in the group who didn't get a complete briefing of the mission?

"Good! You will **love** her," Hikagaeru said proudly. "You won't meet any girl like her!"

"Of course," Kiba coughed, unable to keep himself at snickering.

"Oh! Absolutely, young man!" Hikagaeru told Kiba, patting his head. "I bet you'll fall for her the minute you see her. But you shouldn't, because she's intended to your master."

Kiba scratched his head. Apparently being Shikamaru's guard also meant being Shikamaru's slave.

They soon reached the end of the tunnel where another door stood on their way.

Hikagaeru tapped the door twice with his finger. "We're here for the feast," he said.

The door creaked open. Hikagaeru led them inside.

Everything went dark.

They trudged forward, anxious at what was going on but after a moment or so of walking, tongues of flame flickered around them, leading them into a crowded hall.

Naruto, Kiba and Chouji glanced at the flames.

They were all suspended in mid air.

"This way," Hikagaeru said. "Your father and I have our own spot here."

A thick crowd filled the hall. Everyone was in their grandest kimonos. And they all wore red haori over their clothes. Some of the haori had silver threads in their embroideries, few of them gold, several of them looking close to a shade of copper.

Hikagaeru greeted some of them, introducing Shikamaru as his future son-in-law.

Naruto, Kiba, and Chouji were too in awe at the hall to snicker at Shikamaru's new identity. Akamaru was constantly sniffing the air, noticing the odd scent of flowers drowning his senses.

Kiba snorted. "I don't like this place," he hissed, glaring at the mindless-looking crowd smiling and chatting constantly at each other.

"If this is how it is to be a merchant, I'll just dream of becoming a cook," Chouji whispered, looking around and noting the absence of food tables in the feast.

"This place is weird," Naruto muttered, seeing the floating flames on the stone walls of the hall. He noticed an old man traying to read a note of sorts in his hand. The dimn light couldn't seem to help his eyes enough so he waved at the flickering flames.

And it moved! It flew to his side, giving him light.

"These things are alive," he breathed, staring wide-eyed at the flames.

Shino glanced at the walls, the floor corners, and at the dark patches in the hall. He frowned.

There didn't seem to be any form of insect in the place.

Neji was looking up at the ceiling where a large group of flames danced in intricate choreography. They formed a giant chandelier with every twist and turn they made.

The light it gave was bright enough for him to see the stairs and balconies reaching out from the walls. People with gold threads in their haori climbed the stairs to what seemed like the second level of the hall.

And to Neji's surprise, he realized that the hall was a continuous rock formation – no cut, to crack, no crevice. It was as if the hall was carved inside a giant solid stone.

"You'll get used to it," said Hikagaeru's guard – the one who admired Akamaru. He seemed to be the only friendly one in their group. The other just stood there like manniquins.

"Ladies and gentlemen," a voice echoed from the stage in the other side of the hall.

The crowd slowly dispersed – the guests taking seats in lounge chairs situated in the middle of the floor.

"This way," Hikagaeru said, leading them up to the nearby stairs.

Hikagaeru and Shikamaru took a seat on a long couch situated at the balcony. The guards, apparently, were only supposed to stand guard behind them. But the position of the balcony gave all of them a good view of the stage and the short plump man standing on it.

The stage was framed with red drapes, like in a theater. And it had its own set of dancing flames in the ceiling that brightly illuminated the stage.

When everyone was seated, the lights in the hall vanished, leaving only the lights on the stage.

"Is that him?" Shikamaru asked, eyeing the man on the stage. He was wearing a black coat over a white collared shirt that was accented with a black bowtie, a pair of black slacks and black shiny leather shoes. His glistening black hair was flat and whipped to the back of his head, flaunting a smooth wide forehead.

"Yes," Hikagaeru answered. "That's Toreda-sama. He's the host."

Naruto, Kiba, Chouji, Neji and Shino tensed. The man on stage was their target.

Toreda was Ouga's colleague – the one they were supposed to spy on. A short and cunning middle-aged man, he supposedly bought several relics from Ouga and auctioned them to collectors. It was through these auctions that the new mysterious enemy of Konoha got what they claimed to be the key to the ninja village's destruction.

Of course Toreda wasn't the man's real name. Even Ouga didn't know his real name. But everyone who knew about the auction knew what he looked like and that was enough, for now at least, to locate him.

Another thing Ouga told his interrogators about Toreda was a relic Toreda decided to keep for himself. ANBU had been tasked to get samples of the relics for several months since they received intelligence reports about the new enemy. But all their efforts had been in vain. Either their targets have been murdered by the time they reached them, or the relics had been taken from them by someone… Someone Ouga finally described as "the devil" – Uchiha Sasuke…or Naruto believed it was him.

"Welcome!" Toreda said – his voice loud and clear for some reason even from a great distance. His proud smile exuded control and wickedness. It gave Kiba, Chouji and Naruto unpleasant chills. "I know you're quite excited with the auction so let's start! Wheel-in the appetizer!"

A group of people in red jumpsuits walked in from the left side of the stage, pulling with them what seemed like three man-sized wooden crates.

"These are fresh," Toreda said, tapping one of the crates. "We just caught them a few minutes ago, trying to crash our feast."

One of the five men in jumpsuits opened the crates and revelead three people clad in torn kimonos. Their hands were tied above their heads – their bodies dangling in mid air from an invisible pole. Their faces were bruised and wounded.

The three people in the crates were tortured.

Kiba squinted and tried to look closely at the tormented people on the stage. One of them seemed familiar. …The man in the middle… He was sure he had seen him before…

Kiba froze. He remembered where he had seen them.

Akamaru was stiff and glaring at the stage.

"Ninjas from Suna," Toreda said, smiling at the crowd. "They wore something like this," he said, pulling out a red haori from the air. It had lily pods embroidered on it with copper thread.

Neji, Shino, Shikamaru, Naruto, Chouji and Kiba stiffly watched the scene unfold. The three must have been sent by the Kazekage to gather intelligence about the relics – the same reason why the six of them were there.

"Unfortunately, their invitations are fake," Toreda said, chucking. "Their embroidery threads are just threads! Poor things..."

Naruto stared surprised at Toreda.

…Just threads..? Did that mean the embroidery threads used in what the six of them wore were **different**? But how was it different.

"Otou-san didn't tell me much about this," Shikamaru whispered to Hikagaeru.

"I'm not surprised," Hikagaeru said, smirking. "Your old man forgets a lot of important things. But I'll fill you in. The red haori is dyed with human blood."

Neji, Shino, Kiba, Chouji and Naruto tried hard not to react to the statement.

"The threads used in the embroideries are human hair," Hikagaeru said smiling. "They were dipped in metals. So the gold in our haori..? **Real** gold, just take the hairs away. We can sell them. But if you do, you won't be invited into the feast again – **ever**."

Shikamaru nodded. "I didn't expect that."

Hikagaeru chuckled. "You haven't seen anything yet," he said. "That's just part of the security for the feast. You haven't seen the relics work."

"Oh?" Shikamaru said, raising a brow at Hikagaeru.

Naruto and Kiba glanced at each other. If they were in the balcony, then the haori they were wearing were authentic. Where did Konoha get it?

"Just out of curiosity," Shikamaru said. "Where…do they get the blood and hair from?"

"That's the fun part!" Hikagaeru said, smiling widely at him. "They take it from ninjas."

Neji glanced at Hikagaeru. Six months ago, news of ninjas missing in the middle of performing missions spread throughout the ninja community. But it was suppressed and relayed only to valuable ninja clans and high-ranking ninjas. The disappearances stopped two months later. And the investigations didn't lead to any possible explanation.

…Until now.

"They take it from them while they're alive – while their pumping chakra through their veins," HIkagaeru whispered.

Naruto clenched his fists. There was a huge chance that whoever involuntarily donated blood and hair in the clothes they were wearing was dead – murdered…their families and loved ones left heartbroken. He didn't know much about what was going on, but one thing was sure for him.

Whoever did those things would **pay.**

"And who is 'they'?" Shikamaru asked.

Hikagaeru nodded to the stage. "Them," he said. "…The organizers of the feast. They choose who can appreciate what is being auctioned and invite them for the feast, just like your father and me."

Shikamaru nodded. "I see."

"As is customary," Taredo said. "We will auction our guests. The same arrangements will apply – they will be given to you at the end of the feast a clean slate. They will have no memory of who they were, no concept of free will, and they will be yours for as long as you wish. If they are not sold, they will be put in the Threader, where they will help us make more invitations for future feats."

Shikamaru looked disinterestedly at the stage. "He means they'll turn them into haori?"

"Yes," Hikagaeru said.

Naruto and the others tensed. If the ninjas were bought, they would be slaves. If the ninjas weren't sold, they were put to death.

Naruto closed his eyes.

No one would die on his watch.

"Do I have any bidders?" Taredo asked, looking around at the silent crowd.

Naruto opened his eyes and raised his hand, but before he could raise it above his head, he heard a hiss beside his ear.

"Don't!"

He stiffened – his blue eyes wide with shock. "Sasuke..?" he whispered.


	3. Chapter 3

_Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing "Reconnaissance" _* v *

"_Do you expect it to be the same length as the last one, or do you not know yet?" - I'm hoping it's shorter than "Scroll" _**kloradori**^ v ^ _I really am… ~sigh~_

_Aww… Thank you so much, _**Mozart and I**. _I wouldn't be able to make those stories without their readers' continued support. _* v *

_Anime? LOL _**Jun-Shang88 **^ v ^ _Aww...__You're making me blush. _

_Those are awesome questions and deductions you got there, _**Reignashii**! ^ v ^ _LOVE IT! The answers to most of your questions would be in the future chapters. _

"_please can you tell me if you'll finally allow Sakura and Sasuke to be together?!" - Sorry, _**BelieveDreamsComeTrue**. _I can't answer that. _* v * _That would be like…telling you how the story would go and end. _

_LOL _**happycupcakes096 **^ v ^ _I'm afraid that wouldn't be an interesting ending for "Scroll" or Reconnaissance. For a story so confusing to end in such a predictable manner..? I…don't think so. _

_Here is this week's chapter. Naruto is not mine. _^ v *

* * *

Naruto turned to look behind him. "Sasuke," he whispered, hoping to see his friend. But he only saw the solid wall of the hall.

"Baka," Kiba hissed, nudging Naruto with his elbow.

Naruto looked at him. "I heard Sasuke!" he whispered.

"Shut up," Kiba murmured, glaring at him. "Focus on the mission!"

"But he's here!" Naruto insisted. "Sasuke is **here**!"

Neji nudged him this time.

Naruto looked up at him. He opened his mouth to defend himself. But Neji's icy glare stopped him.

"Do you think my father would mind if I bid myself some shinobi guards?" Shikamaru said.

Naruto looked at Shikamaru. He was talking to Hikagaeru.

"If you need some," HIkagaeru answered, shrugging his shoulders. "You won't need them if you have relics though."

"I understand," Shikamaru said. "I just like collecting ninjas."

Hikagaeru raised a brow at him. He glanced at Chouji, Kiba, Naruto, Neji, and Shino.

Shikamaru smirked and nodded.

"Wow," Hikagaeru chuckled. "I like your hobby. It's very worthwhile. How about I bid for those ninjas for you? Take it as the first gift from your father-in-law."

Shikamaru smiled. "I'm honored," he said. "Thank you. But I really don't mind spending for my pastime."

"Nonsense!" Hikagaeru said, chuckling heartily. "This is on me, and that's final." He looked at the stage and raised his hand.

"Hikagaeru-sama!" Taredo acknowledged.

"All three," Hikagaeru said, his voice suddenly echoing throughout the hall, even though he wasn't shouting.

"Going once," Taredo said, looking around the hall.

Naruto swallowed. If someone else bought the ninjas, the chances of saving them would be slimmer.

"Going twice," he said, walking across the stage. Kiba and the others watched Taredo intently, hoping no one else made a bid.

"Going thrice!" No one else was bidding. "Sold!"

Hikagaeru stood up and bowed at Taredo.

Taredo bowed back, smiling widely at him. "Now that the trash is disposed of," he said as his assistants wheeled the ninjas out of the stage. "Let's begin the feast."

His assistants wheeled in a table covered with a blue sheet.

Shikamaru leaned back on his chair. This was the part they needed to see.

The mission was gather information about the enemy through an event Ouga said was vital to their advances – gathering arms.

"The Feast" was an auction where Taredo sold various rare things scavenged and looted from mystic, mysterious places. This was where Taredo sold the relics – small powerful trinkets that was said to have the power to annihilate an entire villager without them knowing it. Current ANBU intelligence reports still don't have solid information about how the relics work, or how it could destroy a village.

But what they had proved so far about the relics was enough to put the entire ninja community on edge, hence the Sunagakure spies Taredo caught.

Taredo gracefully lifted the cover on the table, exposing a glowing ball of gold hair on the table. "A Kitsune pup!" Toreda said, presenting the specimen. "Looted from the heavens, its blood can make you powerful enough to face the nine-tailed demon fox!"

Kiba, Chouji, and Naruto froze. Neji and Shino's eyes narrowed at the ball of hair.

"Is this true?" Shikamaru asked, raising a brow at the ball on the table.

Hikagaeru chuckled. "Half of it," he said. "The blood of a Kitsune pup can make you powerful sure, but not enough to defeat a nine-tailed demon fox. You'll need a full grown eleven-tailed Kitsune for that."

Shikamaru's eyes narrowed at Hikagaeru.

Kiba, Chouji and Naruto were staring wide-eyed at the man. They could get demon foxes?! Demon fox puppies?! **ELEVEN-TAILED DEMON FOXES?!**

"There's an eleven-tailed demon fox?" Shikamaru asked.

Hikagaeru nodded, smiling at him. "My boy, this world isn't the **only** world. And what your eyes will be feasting on tonight is proof of that."

Shikamaru smirked. "This other world you're talking about is 'the heavens,'" he said.

Hkagaeru shrugged his shoulders. "Your father and a lot of people here call it that," he said. "But I call it 'the land of immortals' – much more mystifying than 'the heavens.' Besides, you don't really fly up the sky to get there."

"Really? It's all true then?" Shikamaru asked.

That wasn't the first time he heard about "the heavens." It was on the ANBU reports. "The heavens" was the place where the relics were stolen from and where, the report said, people didn't die. Because of its inhabitants' supposed immortality, people involved in relic trades called them the "heaven dwellers," "gods." The relics were supposed to be weapons of these gods – weapons that were stolen from them and taken in the underground market for auctions like Taredo's.

"Oh yes," Hikagaeru said. "Has your father told you about the devil?"

Naruto stiffened. Kiba, Chouji, Neji and Shino watched Hikagaeru.

"He mentioned it once, yes," Shikamaru answered. It was again included in the report.

Hikagaeru nodded. "The devil is the immortals' emissary," he whispered. "He collects the stolen properties of the immortals."

Shikamaru nodded. It was just as the intelligence report said.

"And he's been successful in retrieving all the stolen artifacts and seven of the fifteen **authentic** relics," Hikagaeru continued.

"Artifacts?" Shikamaru asked.

That wasn't mentioned in the report.

"Yes," Hikagaeru said. "The artifacts were the first properties of the immortals that reached our world. Before the devil collected all of them, one of the artifact holders deciphered something from his artifact. It revealed the power and location of the relics. The holder passed it on to a friend of his before the devil killed him for stealing from the immortals. That friend looted the relics. He was the first man to sell them."

"And this man is Toreda-sama?" Shikamaru asked.

"Oh no, no," Hikagaeru said. "I heard Toreda only purchased his relics from another source."

Itaro Ouga.

"That man, the one who stole the relics, is dead," Hikagaeru said. "The devil murdered him. He was the first one to die because of the relics, I think. It was too late though. The relics had been passed on to the underground when he was killed."

So Sasuke might also know something about the artifacts.

"Is it true that the devil is now after the relics?" Shikamaru asked.

Hikagaeru chuckled. "Like I said, the devil has taken seven of the fifteen known relics," he said.

"So if we buy one here tonight, the devil would be after us," Shikamaru said.

"In theory," Hikagaeru said, smiling proudly at Shikamaru. "Besides, your father and I already have one. And tonight's feast doesn't offer any relic. But say we **do **get one tonight, yes. The devil may be after us. But you're forgetting the eight authentic relics the devil hasn't recovered yet."

"You mean there's a way to escape the devil."

Hikagaeru nodded, winking at him. "That's why we're here – to get what we need to protect ourselves, me and your old man."

Shikamaru looked down at the stage. The Kitsune pup was sold to someone in the crowd. On the stage was a mirror that was said to have the ability to show you how people see you. It was helpful in knowing who of your colleagues could be trusted.

There were fifteen relics, according to the intelligence report. But its popularity in the underground community created hundreds of counterfeit copies. The only time they were able to prove that a relic was authentic was when the devil retrieved it – and in the process left its holder dead.

Tsuru, the father of the man whom Shikamaru had taken his current identity from was a relic holder. But Tsuru and his family, including the owner of the identity Shikamaru assumed, had been slaughtered several weeks ago. Apparently, the relic he kept in his house was authentic. News of their demise and the disappearance of their relic were kept from everyone and anyone who could spread the word.

HIkagaeru was alive, and though Ouga mentioned Hikagaeru's name in the interrogations he didn't say Hikagaeru was on the devil's list. Which meant the relic he kept was a sham. But if Hikagaeru was right, Tsuru had been doing ways to keep his relic from the devil.

Tsuru died, and the relic disappeared. Either someone else stole the relic or the devil already had eight authentic relics in his hand.

"I know that you and my father should be enough proof that whatever you're doing to conceal your relics are effective," Shikamaru said. "But I'm still not convinced that what you're getting in this auction tonight will still work."

Hikagaeru chuckled. "Don't worry," he said. "Taredo there himself uses it. He's been keeping a relic of his own for the past year."

"Really?" Shikamaru asked.

Confirmed. Taredo, other than Hikagaeru or someone else in the crowd, could be Sasuke's or "the devil's" target.

Taredo was, at that moment, auctioning a sword made of crystal that could slice any tangible thing. When used with a particular relic, the sword becomes powerful enough to slice anything, even dimension walls. It was sold to someone in the crowd who offered one hundred heads.

If what Ouga said in the interrogation was correct, "heads" referred to slaves – human slaves.

"And now the menu you've all been waiting for," Taredo said as his assistants wheeled in another covered table on the stage. He lifted the blue cloth and unraveled a glass vase of what seemed like blood. "The cloak elixir!"

Murmurs echoed in the hall. Hikagaeru excitedly clapped his hands. "That's it! That's what we're here for, son," he said, tapping Shikamaru's shoulder.

"Blood from an immortal," Taredo said, tapping the vase. "It's still warm! Keep your relic in this vase and not even 'the devil' will find it, except for you of course."

Shikamaru raised a brow at the vase. Was it really possible to drain that much blood from one man or woman? Or was it even taken from an immortal? If Taredo was able to capture an immortal, wound it and yield that much blood from it, how immortal were these immortals? Being owners of the relics, Shikamaru expected them to be powerful beings – perhaps more powerful than Uchiha Madara. But if Taredo was telling the truth, they couldn't be that powerful.

"Fifty heads!" yelled someone from the crowd.

"Sixty heads!"

"Ninety heads!"

"One hundred virgins!" Hikagaeru called out.

Shikamaru stiffened. Kiba, Chouji and Naruto dropped their jaws in shock. Neji and Shino froze.

Hikagaeru seemed too ecstatic to notice the group's reactions though. He was looking straight at the stage.

One hundred virgin slaves?

"A hundred and fifty virgins!" called someone from the crowd.

"One hundred virgins, fifty youngbloods, and fifty tots," Hikagaeru shouted.

Taredo's smile went wide. Shikamaru swallowed. Kiba, Chouji and Naruto clenched their fists. Neji glared hard at the balcony. Shino cleared his throat.

"One hundred virgins, fifty youngbloods and fifty tots," Taredo repeated. "Going once!"

The hall was silent.

"Going twice!"

People murmured disappointments.

"Going thrice!"

Silence.

"**SOLD!**" Taredo exclaimed cheerfully. "You may claim your purchases after delivering your payments!"

The crowd began to stand up. The assistants wheeled the vase out of the stage. Hikagaeru laughed.

"We got it, boy!" he said, squeezing Shikamaru's shoulders. "We've got it! I'll share half of it with your father because you're such a great catch for my daughter."

Shikamaru smiled. "Thank you," he said. "How can I help with the payment?"

"Oh, no need," Hikagaeru said. "Itaro here will deliver them the minute we get to the claiming room."

Shikamaru glanced at Itaro. Itaro smiled at him.

To have one hundred virgins, fifty kids and fifty infants would mean… Hikagaeru raided a village.

That was one concern that increased the demand for ninjas in the country – villages being raided by various groups that were only identified as slave traders. Shikamaru himself had been deployed on a mission to destroy one group of raiders.

If the raiders and slave traders had been providing the merchants with resources to purchase relics, it was possible that they were also providing Konoha's mysterious enemies with resources to gather what they needed.

Every odd event happening in the country was connected – the ninja disappearances, the village raids, the relics… If the scheme wasn't stopped, Konoha wouldn't be the only ninja village destroyed – the whole country would be put to its knees, and other countries would suffer next.

Itaro and Hikagaeru's guards walked down the stairs, followed by Shino, Neji, Naruto, Kiba and Chouji. Hikagaeru and Shikamaru walked down the stairs last.

* * *

They were led into another hallway. After several twists and turns, they reached another cave-like room. Taredo welcomed them, smiling widely at Hikagaeru and Shikamaru. "Welcome!" he greeted.

His assistants wheeled in the glass vase.

Naruto, Kiba and Chouji swallowed. It was as big as Chouji's full stomach. How did they fill the vase up with that much blood?

Itaro and the guards walked out to get the payment, leaving Hikagaeru alone with Shikamaru, Naruto, Kiba, Chouji, Neji and Shino.

"You must be Tsuru's son," Taredo told Shikamaru.

"Yes," Shikamaru answered.

"You look very wise," Taredo said. "…And poised! Being a crane suits you."

Shikamaru smiled. "Thank you."

"The ninjas are for him," Hikagaeru said.

Taredo nodded. "A very good gift," he said. "My assistants are preparing them for you."

In short, they were brainwashing them – deleting every memory they had that would keep them from being subversive to their master.

"He's still learning the trade," HIkagaeru said.

A loud explosion suddenly rocked the cave. The ground trembled. Hikagaeru, Shikamaru, Naruto, Kiba, Chouji, Neji and Shino fell down on the ground.

Taredo's eyes went wide. "N-no…" he gasped.

"What's happening?" Shikamaru shouted. Hikagaeru was crouched on the floor. He screamed and wailed in fright.

The room was collapsing. And the its cave-like appearance wasn't helping them focus on what they should do to stay alive.

A high-pitched jingling sound echoed in the room.

Kiba, Naruto and Chouji glanced at each other.

That, the rumour said, meant the devil was near.

"He's getting away!" Neji shouted, seeing Taredo run out of the room through the hole where his assistants disappeared to.

Naruto, Kiba, Chouji, Shino and Neji sprinted to follow Taredo. Shikamaru tapped a nerve in Hikagaeru's neck and watched the man drop unconscious on the floor. He then followed the others.

The hall was dimly lit by the floating flames. Its walls allowed only one man to pass at one time. Naruto led the sprint, listening intently to the jingling sound and the series of screams echoing from the end of the hall.

"Do you feel him?" Kiba asked, following Naruto. He was riding Akamaru. "We can't smell him!"

"No," Naruto shouted in response. He knew Sasuke was there though. He just **knew** he was there. "NEJI!"

"I can't see anything!" Neji shouted from behind them. "I don't know why but all I can see are solid walls!"

"Genjutsu?" Chouji asked, huffing as they continued to run after Taredo.

"It shouldn't have an effect on the byakugan," Shino answered, running behind Chouji.

"It must be the relic," Shikamaru said. "I'm not sure how it works, but that's the only logical explanation I have right now."

"I agree," Neji answered, deactivating his byakugan.

"Let's hope the devil really is Sasuke," Kiba said.

The screams went louder and louder – the jingling sounds overlapping the bone-cringing shrieks from Taredo.

After passing several dark spots in the tunnel, they reached a small cave-like room – one with no other exit hole.

Naruto slid to a stop – his eyes adjusting to the dim light. The others followed, sliding to a stop beside him. Naruto scratched his eyes to clear his vision.

In the middle of the room were shadows – one was on the ground…one of an unconscious man. The other was someone crouched on the ground

"Shannaro," he hissed as the lights flickered in the room. The man on the ground was Taredo – unconscious with his stomach ripped open. His eyes were open – fear, shock and death clear on his face. Blood stains drenched the floor.

The crouched shadow stood up and turned to face Naruto.

A black cloak wrapped itself around the man - his dark hair almost mixed with its hue. His white skin stood out in the dark, his blood red eyes shimmering in the dim light. Dangling from his ear was a small, round, shimmering gold bell.

"Teme," Naruto breathed.

"Get away from the entrance!" Sasuke shouted.

Naruto, Kiba, Chouji, Shikamaru, Neji and Shino stepped away from the hall and sprinted across the room. Voices of yelling guards echoed in the walls.

"They've spotted you," Sasuke said. He quickly pulled his cloak off, revealing a jet black kimono, embroidered with a pattern that formed a demon's face, sewed in red silk. "Stay close together!"

Naruto and the others stood close to each other in a tightly knit defense circle.

Sasuke then waved his black cloak in the air, wrapping the others with him in its darkness.

Everything went black.

* * *

Naruto felt something lightly touch his nose. It was so light it made the tip of his nose itch. He scrunched up his nose, and finally slapped whatever was irritating his nose. The slap hit his face hard and forced him to open his blue eyes.

He saw a small white butterfly flutter away from his face. Then a vast blue sky met his gaze.

"Get up, dobe," he heard Sasuke say.

Naruto gasped and sat up. The sweet scent of fresh grass filled his nose. He found himself sitting on a thick green grass.

Actually, scratch that. He found all of them – with Kiba, Akamaru, Chouji, Neji and Shino unconscious – splayed on a vast grassy hill. On the horizon were mountains, forests, towering trees… The clouds overhead swirled lightly against the bright glow of the sun.

Naruto looked around and saw Sasuke fixing his heavily embroidered white kimono as few steps away from him. Sasuke's hair was longer than Naruto remembered. It was held back by a gold knot resting on the back of his neck. Sasuke's right ear had a gold ear cuff with a dangling round bell.

"Teme?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke looked at him with his apathetic black eyes. "Wake them up," he said. "We need to get home before lunch."


	4. Chapter 4

_Thank you all so much for reading this story _^ v ^

_"When will you update?" - I'm currently trying to update weekly, same day of the week, just so it doesn't get that much in the way of the other things I'm doing. I'm not sure what day the notification for this update arrives in your country, but this should be the day of the week when I plan to upload the next chapters in the future weeks. Hope this isn't too confusing, _**JulieBooklover21 *** v *

_"Do you have a sketch of what Sasuke looks here?" - Unfortunately, I don't _**moonfairy014 **^ v ^_ I'm sure however you imagine him in this story is correct. _

_"so Sasuke is like some mannequin for the relics XD? the gold knot, ther ear cuff with the bell and the kimono (I want a kimono like that! .)?" - We'll see if that's correct, _**JunShang88**_. _^ v ^

_Anyway, here's this week's chapter. _

_Naruto is not mine. _* v *

* * *

"This was where you were all along?!" Naruto said as they walked down the hill. Shikamaru, Kiba and Akamaru flanked Naruto. Chouji, Shino and Neji followed behind them. Sasuke led the way.

Before they started walking down the steep grassy slope of the hill, Sasuke gathered the blood-dyed haori and wrapped them in a black cloth. He amazingly was able to hide the already massive ball of cloth in his inside pocket. They had asked him how he did it but he kept his mouth shut after that.

"Do you even have any idea where we are, Naruto?" Kiba asked as he focused his chakra on the soles of his feet. The grass was moist and slippery.

"Aren't we in the village where Taredo's auction is held?" Naruto asked.

Shikamaru sighed. "Troublesome," he muttered. "…Though I have to agree with Naruto's statement, Sasuke."

Sasuke remained silent. He had been quiet since they started the trip down the hill. He hadn't said much about where they were, what happened, and where they were going.

"Wait!" Naruto said. "Are you saying we're in a different place?"

"Obviously," Chouji answered. "Unless we slept the entire night Sasuke dragged us out of that village and to this hill."

Naruto frowned. "How did he get us here then, if this is an entirely different place?"

Neji glanced at Sasuke. He didn't seem like he was in the mood to clarify anything. "That black cloak you have, Uchiha," he said.

Shikamaru smirked. Naruto raised a brow at Neji.

"That transports us here," Neji continued.

"Yes," Sasuke answered.

"EH?!" Naruto exclaimed. "You used a transportation jutsu to get us out of the cave?"

"No," Sasuke said. "I used the cloak."

Naruto, Kiba and Chouji frowned.

They reached the plain and immediately walked into a thick forest.

"If we're in a hurry," Kiba began. "Why aren't we using the trees?"

"Good question," Naruto said. "Why **aren't** we using the trees, Teme?"

"Just walk," Sasuke answered.

Naruto grunted. "I know we owe you for saving our butts out there, but we deserve to know what's going on."

Sasuke ignored the statement and continued to lead them through the forest. They soon reached a road, cutting through the dense woods.

Sasuke stopped and looked at the road. He first looked at where it led to in his left – a stretch of road through the rest of the forest; then where it seemed to stretch from in his right – another stretch of road through the rest of the forest.

Kiba glanced at Chouji, Naruto, and Shikamaru. Chouji shrugged his shoulders.

"Neh, Teme," Naruto began.

Then they heard a trotting noise from where the road supposedly stretched from. The trotting sound grew louder, accompanied by the sound of wooden wheels rolling on the ground.

They all stared at the emerging vehicle from afar – a wooden wagon pulled by two brown horses. It seemed to be carrying a pile of wooden boxes and a stack of plump sacks.

A plump, white-haired man in a brown cloak drove the wagon. His eyes brightened at the sight of them.

"Uchiha-sama!" the man greeted, putting the wagon to a gentle stop in front of them. "Welcome back!" he said, chuckling heartily – his eyes smiling.

"Thank you, Fuyuki-san," Sasuke greeted back – **smiling** kindly at the man.

Naruto, Kiba, and Chouji gawked at the scene.

"I'm on my way to town," Fuyuki said. "I can give you and your friends a ride."

"That would be perfect," Sasuke said. "Thank you so much. Let me introduce you to my friends."

He introduced Naruto, Shikamaru, Kiba, Akamaru, Chouji, Neji, and Shino to Fuyuki. Fuyuki courteously bowed to them. They then got on the wagon. Luckily it had enough space for the group.

"Thank you for letting us into your wagon," Shikamaru told Fuyuki.

Fuyuki chuckled. "A friend of Uchiha-sama is a friend of mine," he said. "Make sure you hold on to the wagon. The road gets bumpy across the woods."

The eight ninjas settled on the wagon and watched the forest pass by with every trot the horses made.

Naruto watched Sasuke lean his head back, close his eyes, and take several deep breaths. It was like he missed the place.

Shikamaru examined the embroidery patterns on Sasuke's clothes. They glinted in the sunlight and formed an image of a flying white dragon.

"Is it alright to discuss things?" he asked, after a moment of studying Sasuke's attire.

Sasuke opened his eyes and straightened his back. He looked at Shikamaru.

"You were there the whole time," Shikamaru said.

Sasuke shrugged and looked at the road they were leaving, feeling the breeze on his face and smelling the sweet scent of the leaves dancing in the air.

Kiba grunted. "Can you at least tell us where we are?"

"Paradise," Shino said.

Naruto, Chouji and Kiba stared confused at Shino. "Paradise?"

"Look," Shino said, nodding at the direction they were taking. They all looked and realized they were leaving the forest.

The path indeed went steeper and they realized why – they were driving down the slide of a cliff that overlooked a vast land of green hills. Flocks of multi-colored birds soared across the blue sky from various directions. Patches of bright colors traced the slopes and stretched deeper… farther to what seemed to be a village surrounded by a stone fort.

A mountain range surrounded the plain, making appear like they were in the edges of a giant volcano creater. The plain curved inwards like a bowl – the center was occupied by the village. Wispy clouds floated in swirls on the blue sky, leaving glistening rainbow fluffs in their wake.

Naruto, Kiba, Chouji, Neji and Shino stared at the scenery in awe. Sasuke just looked at them like it was something he saw every day. And perhaps it was.

"Welcome to Seiiki," Sasuke said, looking at the group.

Naruto, Kiba, Chouji, Neji and Shino looked at Sasuke.

"We're not in our world, are we?" Kiba said.

"No, we're not," Sasuke answered.

* * *

Fuyuki drove the wagon down into the meadow. They could clearly see the towering gates of the village from where they were.

Kiba and Akamaru sneezed at the scent of the flowers blooming in the meadow. They were small blossoms in white and various shades of yellow, purple and red. But stretching far and wide, they filled the breeze with sweet and soft scents.

Shino observed the vibrant colored wings of the butterflies fluttering around, the sound of the busy bees observing the insides of the flowers, and the colorful dragonflies floating about the meadow.

Everything looked so alive and different from what they were used to see.

Kiba looked at Sasuke. He was looking out at the scenery with sleepy eyes.

Sasuke once again kept his mouth shut on the way.

"I see you still have those long fringes framing your face," Kiba said. Naruto and the others looked at Sasuke. "What else did you do aside from growing a tail hair?"

"A lot," Sasuke answered, not sparing Kiba a glance.

Kiba frowned.

"Is there food in where we're going?" Chouji asked, rubbing his stomach.

Sasuke glanced at him, but remained silent.

Shikamaru sighed. "So let me get this straight," he said. "This was where you went when you disappeared, right?"

Sasuke looked at the scenery again.

"This place is the 'heaven' those relic enthusiasts call," Shikamaru continued, knowing Sasuke wasn't going to talk. "This was where those artifacts and relics came from."

"So you **do** know something about them," Kiba said. "And those ninjas plotting against Konoha."

"They're not ninjas," Sasuke said, keeping his eyes on the road.

The others stared confused at Sasuke.

"What are they then?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke didn't answer.

"Neh, Sasuke," Chouji said, frowning at the sight of the round bell dangling from Sasuke's ear. He had been looking at it for a while since their trip began and he noticed something odd about it. "I think your bell is broken."

"Broken?" Naruto asked.

"Look at it," Chouji said. "We've been through bumps and stuff on the road, you see the bell swinging in the air, but you don't hear it ringing."

Naruto, Kiba, Shino, and Neji looked at the bell. Chouji was right. It was moving, but it wasn't making any sound.

"It's not broken," Shikamaru said, smirking at Sasuke. "It rings when it's close to a relic, correct?"

Sasuke didn't answer.

"No," Kiba said, tired of the silence Sasuke was giving them. "It doesn't ring. It **jingles**."

Naruto and Chouji burst into laughter. Neji and Shino smirked.

To their surprise, Sasuke spoke. "Yes," he said. "It does."

Naruto, Chouji and Kiba stared shocked at Sasuke. Neji and Shino raised a brow. Shikamaru sighed – a wide smile on his face.

They then heard a low grunt from the earth. Naruto, Kiba, Chouji, Shino and Neji sat upright, suddenly on their toes.

"Relax," Sasuke said. "It's just the gate."

And it really was the gate – the towering stone gate that slid open as Fuyuki drove closer to the village.

* * *

The first place they saw was the market place. It was filled with people of all ages, trading for large fruits and vegetables, live fish, pigs and cattle, and other produce.

Chouji swallowed at the sight of the food vendors roasting skewers of meat. Naruto stared at the vendors cooking noodles. Kiba and Akamaru stared at the large poised dogs guarding some of the stalls. Neji looked at the intricate patterns on the cloths being sold. Shino looked for insects.

Shikamaru looked at where Fuyuki was headed.

After a few turns here and there, the wagon drove through a street filled with houses. Children were cheerfully running down the street, playing games.

"Uchiha-sama!" they greeted when they saw the wagon.

To their surprise, Sasuke smiled at them.

"Welcome back!" called some of the children.

Sasuke smirked and waved at them.

Naruto gawked at the scene. "What the hell have you been doing this past year, Teme?"

Sasuke ignored him.

They passed through a canopy of trees and stopped in the middle of the street.

"We're here!" Fuyuki said, smiling at Sasuke.

Sasuke jumped off the wagon. Naruto, Kiba, Akamaru, Chouji, Neji and Shino followed.

"Thank you," Sasuke told Fuyuki.

"Anything for Uchiha-sama!" Fuyuki said, bowing to him. "I'll see you around!" He then drove his wagon away, leaving Sasuke, Naruto, Kiba, Akamaru, Chouji, Neji and Shino in front of a set of stone steps.

Naruto, Kiba and Chouji looked up at the stone stairs. A red torii marked the start of the steps.

"A temple?" Chouji asked.

"Let's go," Sasuke said, casually walking up the stairs. Naruto and the others followed, noticing how far they had to walk to reach the temple.

"How many steps does this stair have?" Chouji asked.

"Two-hundred and thirty-one," Sasuke answered.

"EH?!" Naruto exclaimed. "Why are we still walking? Why don't we just leap to the top?"

"Because you're in a temple, Dobe," Sasuke answered. "Pay your respects."

Naruto, Chouji, Kiba and Akamaru froze – their eyes wide with shock. Neji himself raised a brow. Shikamaru sighed.

Uchiha Sasuke talking about how one should pay respects?

"There's food in the temple," Sasuke said, still walking up the stairs. He knew the others had stopped walking behind him.

"Why didn't you say that earlier?!" Chouji said. He quickly walked up the stairs, passing Sasuke on his way.

Sasuke sighed.

* * *

The first one to reach the top of the steps was Chouji. And he had fallen down on the ground – huffing and sweaty.

Sasuke and the others followed.

"Looks like you're not in shape," Kiba teased.

"That's what happens to impatient people," Sasuke said.

"W-What..?" Chouji asked. "Y-You…d-didn't-"

"Wow," they heard a chirpy voice echo from the temple. They all looked at where it came from.

In the shade of the temple's lobby was a girl clothed in a white kimono. Her flowing black hair reached her waist. She stared smirking at Sasuke with her round chocolate eyes.

"And here I thought you wouldn't make it," she said.

"Where is she?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto's ears perked up at the word 'she.' Was he talking about Sakura? Was she there?

"In the clinic," the girl answered. "Is that a friend of yours?" she said, looking at Chouji.

Sasuke looked down at Chouji and sighed. His sweat was all over the wooden floor.

The girl turned away, chuckling. "You're cleaning that up, 'Hn,'" she said.

Naruto, Kiba and Chouji raised a brow at her.

Did she just insult Sasuke?

Sasuke glared at her. "Tsk," he muttered. "Annoying."

Naruto, Chouji and Kiba froze. Sasuke retorted?

"Stand up," Sasuke told Chouji. "You're not eating until you reach the dining hall."

Chouji quickly forced himself to stand. "Where's the dining hall?!"

Shikamaru sighed.

Sasuke didn't answer. He instead just walked into the temple. The others followed close behind him.

* * *

They passed by several hallways, and several temple servants who excitedly greeted Sasuke. It seemed everyone, except the girl they saw earlier, was glad that Sasuke returned to the place.

One hall led them to a detached section of the temple where a line of people on its balcony seemed to be waiting for something.

"Uchiha-sama!" greeted each person they saw – young and old. The old women looked especially happy at his return.

"She's in there," they all said, pointing to the inside of the building. "We told her to rest but she wouldn't listen."

Sasuke nodded and smiled at them. "Thank you for watching over her," he said. He then walked further into the building.

Naruto felt that they were referring to Sakura so he quickly followed close behind Sasuke. The others followed him, looking at the people on the line.

They all seemed to be sick of something, or injured, or wounded.

Several other people greeted Sasuke and they were clothed in a white kimono. They seemed to be giving the people bandages, medicines and other things that might help them. It was like they were nurses of some sort.

Sasuke stepped into the hall, walking down an aisle formed by an array of beds. Each patient he passed greeted him. Sasuke patiently smiled at them but kept on walking to a corner of the room.

They reached a section of the room where a group of "nurses" seemed to be receiving some orders from a doctor. When they spotted Sasuke, they snickered.

Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest. The others were too busy looking at the patients to notice who Sasuke was looking at.

The "nurses" bowed at the doctor and quickly walked away, quietly greeting Sasuke.

Sasuke watched the doctor browse through a box of medical supplies – frowning and focused on looking for something she greatly needed to use.

Sasuke loudly cleared his throat.

This took not only the doctor's attention, but also Naruto, Chouji, Kiba, Shikamaru, Neji and Shino's attention.

Naruto looked at the doctor and stiffened.

"Sasuke-kun!" she excitedly greeted – her green eyes flooding with relief and her lips stretching into a smile. She quickly locked Sasuke in an embrace – the loose bun holding her pink hair up toppling down on her back.

Sasuke slipped his hand down and held her close to his chest.

"You're really home!" she mumbled against his shoulder. She leaned away and kissed Sasuke's lips.

Naruto, Chouji and Kiba's jaws dropped for the second time since they woke up that morning. Shikamaru and Neji's eyes went wide. Shino froze.

Sasuke leaned down and kissed her back. The doctor leaned away, chuckling. She then noticed Naruto and the others, standing behind Sasuke.

She gasped and covered her lips. Blood filled her cheeks. "Sasuke-kun, you didn't tell me we had guests!" she said, frowning at Sasuke.

Sasuke only looked at her.

The doctor stepped in front of Naruto, greeting him with a shy but warm smile. Sasuke kept his arm on her waist.

Naruto's blue eyes were moist with happy tears. He beamed into a smile, sighing in relief. "I knew it," he whispered. "I **knew **it! Sakura!" Naruto quickly pulled Sakura into a tight embrace.

Sakura gasped – fright, shock and confusion wiping the smile on her face.

Kiba, Chouji, Shikamaru, Neji and Shino stared confused at Sakura. She just froze in Naruto's hug.

"What happened to you?" Naruto asked, still caging her in his arms. "You didn't even send us a word about why you hadn't returned to Konoha! We were worried sick about you!"

"I…I'm…" Sakura said, her heart ramming hard and fast against her chest. She glanced at Sasuke for help, confused at what was going on.

"Naruto," Sasuke called, tapping Naruto's arm.

Naruto leaned away. "Oops," he said, grinning shyly at her. "Sorry. So, how are you? You're working as a doctor here, huh? It's been three years!"

Sakura stepped back, quickly gripping Sasuke's arm – the still holding her waist. Her body was stiff and her limbs were trembling.

Sasuke sighed. Her green eyes expressed nothing but fear and bafflement.

"Naruto," Sasuke said, glancing at Naruto.

Naruto frowned at him. "You could have at least told me she was alive, Teme! Why didn't you tell us she wasn't really dead anyway? And you two are together now? You should have told me about this!"

Shikamaru cleared his throat, reading what Sasuke was trying to say. He had noticed the expression on Sakura's face and knew there was something terribly wrong in the scene.

"Naruto, stop," Shikamaru said, tapping Naruto's shoulder.

Naruto looked at Shikamaru. "What..? You **knew** about this too?"

"No," Shikamaru said. "But this isn't a good time for you to-"

"Oh! You're right," Naruto said. "Where are my manners? Let's go outside then, where we won't be bothering other patients," he said, taking Sakura's hand.

Sakura quickly pulled her hand away – tears filling her green eyes.

Naruto froze. "Sakura-chan?"

"I… I'm sorry," Sakura shakily said.

Naruto stared confused at Sakura. Kiba, Chouji and Shikamaru glanced at each other. Neji and Shino looked at Sasuke.

Sasuke was looking down on the floor – disappointment filling his face.

"I know," Naruto answered, chuckling and thinking she was ashamed of herself. "It's okay, Sakura. We understand. You have your reasons for not coming back and we-!"

"NO!" Sakura said – tears sliding down her cheeks. She shook her head, glancing at each face in the group. "I… I don't know you."

Naruto stared confused at Sakura. Kiba and Chouji looked away. Shikamaru glanced at Sasuke. Neji and Shino sighed.

"Wh-What do you mean?" Naruto asked. "How can you not know any of us? We practically grew up together!"

Sakura shook her head, sobbing. "I really don't-"

"Hush," Sasuke said, pulling her into his arms. Sakura buried her face on his chest. "It's okay," he said, gently running his hand on her hair. "It's not your fault." He then glanced one last time at Shikamaru before leading Sakura away.

Naruto's limbs were trembling – the gravity of Sakura's statement sinking into his consciousness. "Sakura-" he said, stepping forward to follow them.

Shikamaru stepped in front of Naruto, shaking his head.

Naruto looked confused at Shikamaru.

"Well this is an awkward moment," a man suddenly standing behind Shino said, cutting the silence and tension looming over the group.

Naruto, Shikamaru, Kiba, Akamaru, Chouji, Neji and Shino turned to look at him.

The man smiled.

"Hi," he said – his long white braided hair draped over his left shoulder. He wore a more extravagant kimono than Sasuke – with shimmering silver threads depicting snow and dragons on his clothes. "My name is Houren. And this is no place for guests at lunch time so please follow me."

"You know something about this?" Shikamaru asked Houren.

"Sadly," Houren said. "I do. But I'm not telling you anything about it here. Come with me to the dining hall."

Neji, Shino, Shikamaru, KIba, Akamaru and Chouji followed Houren as he walked out of the room. Naruto, shocked at what happened looked at where Sasuke and Sakura disappeared to.

Was that the reason why Sasuke didn't go back to Konoha with Sakura – she didn't remember anything? Was that the reason why she didn't go back from her mission? Was that why Sasuke couldn't tell him anything about her – he didn't know how to explain what happened to her?

"Naruto," Kiba called.

Naruto looked at him. It turned out he waited for him in the room. Akamaru was there too.

"Let's go," he said. "I doubt they're going anywhere far."

Naruto nodded and followed him.


	5. Chapter 5

_My apologies for the extremely late update._

_I was out on a long vacation the other week and I lost the mood to update my stories online. Last week, I was bombarded with things to do so I didn't have enough time to update this story. I'm sorry if it made you think I was teasing you on purpose, or that I wasn't thinking about how you would all feel with the story not being updated on time. I've just been busier for the past months. _

_And I'm in no way planning of putting this story in hiatus. I understand how annoying it is for a reader to realize a story s/he's reading gets discontinued, even just for a time, so I try my best not to put my stories in hiatus. If this happens again - like I don't update this story as regularly as I should - it would most likely be because of schedule conflicts than because a sudden decision to drop the story. _

_Anyway, here's the next chapter for this story. _

* * *

"I'm sorry," Sakura whispered, trembling and weeping against Sasuke's chest.

Sasuke led her to one of the gardens and held her close to him. He felt guilty about what happened. He should have warned Naruto and the others, or Sakura at least.

But what was done, was done.

"I'm so sorry," Sakura whispered, wiping her tears.

"It's okay," Sasuke answered. "It's not your fault." Sasuke kissed her forehead and tear-drenched cheeks. "It's not your fault Sakura."

"But I don't remember them," Sakura said, looking up at Sasuke with her pained green eyes. "I don't remember them! I should remember them but-"

Sasuke held her cheeks. "No," he said. "I didn't bring them here because you should remember them. I brought them here because I thought their presence could help you learn how to remember – give you hints, tell you memories I can't tell you about, let you meet some of the people in Konoha who care about you."

Sakura smiled and closed her eyes. She held Sasuke's hands.

"I should have warned you," Sasuke said sighing.

Sakura shook her head. "I still wouldn't have remembered them."

Sasuke looked at her face. She seemed calmer but fear still laced her face. Sasuke held her by the waist and pulled her close to his chest. "You'll remember them," he said. "Maybe not today, or tomorrow, but you will. You will remember everything soon."

Sakura tried to smile. She listened to Sasuke's heartbeat and tried to calm herself.

In truth though, their faces reminded her of events that she had been seeing in her dreams, especially the blonde's.

A group of ninjas jumping in the air…each ninja looking like the first one – blonde and blue-eyed like the blonde she saw in the clinic… each of them holding a ball of whirling energy…

…All of them hurling the ball of energy on Sasuke – burning his flesh, ripping his skin, breaking his bones.

Sakura cringed and held Sasuke close to her.

Sasuke felt the tension in Sakura's body and rubbed her back to calm her down.

"Those people," she began, opening her green eyes. "A-Are they… friends?"

"Yes," Sasuke answered. "We practically grew up with them. Well… you grew up with them more than I did."

Sakura moved her ear closer to Sasuke's heart. "But they won't hurt you," she said.

"No," Sasuke answered, thinking about how he would later be confronted by Naruto and the others. "No, they'll understand."

"You're sure?" Sakura asked.

"Yes," Sasuke answered. "Especially Naruto."

"Naruto?"

"…The blonde."

Sakura frowned. "I see," she said.

Naruto. Sasuke seemed to trust him a lot. Did that Naruto have a bunch of identical siblings?

* * *

The lunch table teased everyone's appetites – bowls of steamy ramen; an array of grilled meat; plates of roasted fowls, pigs and cows; bowls of salads and sautéed vegetables; gracious servings of stir-fried noodles; bowls of pungent curries; and a variety of refreshing tea.

Sadly, none of the guests felt too hungry to dive in.

Naruto was especially too dispirited to pounce on the savory-smelling seafood ramen in front of him.

Houren sighed as he watched his guests stare at the table. They were all seated around the lunch table, leaving two seats on his left empty. On his right sat Naruto, followed by who Houren mentally named "pineapple head."

Houren cleared his throat. "Do dig in," he said. "We're not really big on manners here so just get what you want." He then grabbed a pork kebab and munched on it.

Shikamaru glanced at him for a moment before getting a bowl of curry for himself. Neji and Shino followed. Chouji and Kiba nodded at each other before grabbing some of the barbeque and a leg from the roasted chicken.

Naruto looked up at Houren. "You said you're going to tell us."

"Yes," Houren replied, before sipping his tea. "Yes I did."

"Aren't you going to start talking?"Naruto asked.

Kiba, Chouji and Neji glanced at Naruto. Shikamaru sighed.

"Am I not talking already?" Houren said, chuckling. "Eat something first," he said before Naruto could lose his temper. "It's a long story. And I would be more than happy to share it with people who share lunch with me."

Naruto turned to the ramen and started eating.

The taste of the food inspired their appetite and soon, they were filling themselves the way people who hadn't eaten dinner and breakfast should.

Houren smiled, though he knew it was inappropriate for the story he was about to tell. "I hope you don't hate Sasuke for not warning you about what you're in," he said.

His guests looked up at him.

"He wasn't…allowed," Houren continued.

Shikmaru wiped his lips with a napkin. "You mean he's under your control?"

"Partly, yes," Houren answered. "Its part of the agreement we had with the grumpy old men. You'll meet them later tonight. For now, ignore any question you would like to ask about them."

"This agreement," Kiba said. "This has something to do with Sakura."

"Yes," Houren answered. "But we must begin with what you might as well say the beginning of your problem with relics."

Naruto's blue eyes went wide. "You're-"

"Yes now please allow me to continue," Houren said.

Naruto shut his mouth and looked intently at Houren.

"You know you're not in your 'world' anymore," Houren said, raising a brow at each one of his guests.

They nodded.

"And this is the first time you've learned about this world," Houren said.

"This is the first time I proved it's true," Shikamaru answered.

Naruto gawked at Shikamaru. "You know about this?!"

"Later," Shikamaru said, glancing at him before looking back at Houren.

Houren nodded. "Unlike you, we're well versed about your world," he said. "And that's because we've visited your world many times in the past. Some of us even became characters in your myths."

The guests looked fascinated at Houren.

Myths? The dragon in Sasuke's kimono, the fox in the auction… Were those-?

"Some of us are similar to those inherent in your world," Houren continued. "We're practically of the same species, only… slightly different."

"Immortal," Kiba said. "You really don't die?"

"Some of us, like me," Houren answered. "There are… degrees…to immortality. Most of us stop aging after our bodies reach a specific point of maturity, hence the long life. But they can be physically wounded, and a severe wound can still be fatal to them. So they're not entirely immortal."

Kiba raised a brow at Houren. So there were different kinds of immortal people?

"Some of us, aside from no longer aging, can heal our wounds quickly. That's close to the general idea of immortality," Houren continued. "And some of us are just plain annoying – nothing can harm their physical bodies. They can't even feel physical pain – pure energy, perfect immortality. And then there are those of us who simply live long lives – mortals that continue to physically age but live for hundreds of years. It can be attributed to time though. Time runs different here, you see."

"Wait so there are mortals here too?" Chouji asked.

"Yes," Houren answered. "In fact most of the people you've seen since you've arrived are mortals. They can die and they will eventually die but they live very long lives."

"Which kind of immortal are you?" Shikamaru asked.

Houren smiled. "The exceptional kind," he said. "But I'll tell you about that later. Going on, we visit your world for various reasons that I'm not going to elaborate anymore. But we've made rules to keep everyone away from your world because of… complications some of our visits caused."

"Like the relics," Neji said.

Houren nodded. "Yes, the relics," he said glumly. "But that's a more complex kind of conflict that we'll go further into in a moment. One of the conflicts that the visits caused was the transfer of knowledge. Some of us trusted some of your people too much. We ended up losing some of our properties."

"The artifacts," Shikamaru said.

Houren nodded. "The artifacts are prized possessions of our ancestors."

"You have ancestors?!" Chouji said.

Houren chuckled. "Yes," he said. "We do. They left us some of their things – trinkets, scrolls, and tools – before they moved on."

Naruto, Kiba and Chouji looked confused at Houren.

Houren smiled. "'Moving on' is our euphemism for death," he said. "…Since it rarely happens here."

"Oh," Naruto, Kiba and Chouji mumbled, nodding.

"Those artifacts contain imprints of their knowledge," Houren continued. "We transfer knowledge by sharing memories, fragments of their experiences, and at times even conditioned chakra."

"Conditioned chakra?" Neji asked.

"It's like when you make a trap using your chakra," Houren explained. "…Only slightly different. For example, I can leave some of my chakra here in this chopstick," he said, picking up one of his silver chopsticks. "That chakra can contain whatever I want it to contain – like knowledge on how to use a specific chakra gate. That chakra will now be called an imprint. Of course the imprint would be worthless if whoever accesses it hasn't even opened that chakra gate. So I will include something else in my imprint – something that will open that particular chakra gate so the imprint would make sense."

Houren's guests stiffened.

"So you don't really need teachers here," Naruto said.

Houren chuckled. "Oh we still need teachers," he said. "Artifacts are not used by everyone here. In fact, using them is forbidden unless our law gives you the permission to use them. Artifacts almost always contain forbidden techniques – skills that can annihilate mortal and immortal communities, shatter dimension barriers, bend universal laws, and convert souls to power. So we don't use artifacts in school."

"Those artifacts are scary," Chouji muttered.

"How did it get to our world?" Shino asked.

"Good question," Houren said. "Allow me to continue. Like I said, it is through these artifacts that we learn what our ancestors know. But not everyone understood how they worked. So when some of us told people from your world about the artifacts, the people in your world thought they were powerful talismans."

"And some of thouse people stole the artifacts from your world," Naruto said.

"Unfortunately, yes," Houren said. "At the time, we were still closing the gates that lead to your world. They were able to slip into our world, steal the artifacts from our sacred vaults, and take the artifacts to your world."

"So someone prominent in your world told those thieves about the artifacts," Neji said.

"Yes," Houren replied, nodding. "She was one of the few who we consider as elders. She was the keeper of the artifacts."

"She..?" Kiba, Chouji and Naruto asked.

Houren nodded. "She thought everyone in your world could be trusted," he said. "So she told them about everything that she did here."

"Who is she?" Naruto asked. "And what happened to her when the artifacts were stolen?"

"She was punished," Houren answered. "And erasing her name from memory is part of the punishment, so I cannot tell you her name."

Neji, Kiba and Chouji leaned back in amazement.

"She was one of the most powerful immortals in our world," Houren continued. "Killing her physical body wasn't enough to put her to rest. But since what she did was considered grave enough for a death sentence, the elders sentenced her to death."

Naruto frowned. "It wasn't her fault those people tricked her!"

Houren smiled sadly at him. "Yes," he said. "That is true. But she swore an oath never to tell anyone but her successor about what she does and where she keeps the artifacts. She broke that oath. She betrayed the trust of everyone in our world. She knew that, and accepted her sentence."

Naruto looked away, crossing his arms over his chest. "It's still not fair," he muttered.

Houren nodded, looking down at his empty plate.

"You said she was an immortal," Kiba said. "How did they kill her?"

Hourne looked up at him. "We separated her physical body from her consciousness," he said. "We kept her 'soul' in a void. Her physical body still had so much power and memories. It served as her artifact. Unfortunately her body was too powerful to turn to ash. So we chopped her body into fifteen pieces."

Naruto, Kiba, and Chouji's jaws dropped. Neji and Shino froze.

"The relic," Shikamaru said.

"Yes," Houren said. "Those fifteen pieces became 'relics.' Before we go further into the relics, allow me to continue with my story. After passing the sentence, I was sent to your world to retrieve the artifacts. But I went astray and made myself a family in your world."

Kiba snickered. "So this is the part where we start talking about romance," he muttered.

"No," Houren said. "That would be in some other time. Going on, I had some complications with my descendants and Sakura, together with your noble ANBU, was hired to help out."

"Her last mission," Shikamaru said, nodding.

"You knew about Sakura-chan's last mission?!" Naruto exclaimed, staring at Shikamaru.

"Later," Shikamaru said before turning to Houren again.

Houren nodded. "They tried to save a village from my troubled grandson. I've met Sakura before that mission, however. I was depressed at the time, and I humored myself by playing tricks at wanderers. She was on her way back to your village from one of her missions when I saw her. Like I said, I played tricks on people – making them believe they reached a village where they would be trapped forever. She didn't fall for my trick though. I was so amazed at her wit and skill; I decided to share some of my knowledge to her. I taught her how to heal people using the chakra of things around her."

Neji glanced at Shikamaru. Shikamaru looked grimly at his curry bowl.

"I underestimated her," Houren said sadly. "The technique I taught her was the foundation of one of our forbidden techniques – reviving the dead."

Naruto stiffened.

He had heard about people saying Sasuke was dead when they found him after their last fight. He had heard about how Sasuke mysteriously survived – how his heart started beating when Sakura examined him.

"Sasuke," Naruto said.

Houren looked at Naruto. "Yes," he said. "She used it to save him. But reviving the dead, or near-dead, needed more than chakra from things around you."

"She gave him her own chakra to sustain him," Shikamaru said.

Naruto looked at Shikamaru.

"Yes," Houren said. "She connected his chakra circulatory system to her own, forcing his body to sustain itself using her chakra."

"That's impossible!" Kiba exclaimed. "R-right?"

"A few hours ago, you didn't think the existence of my world was possible," Houren said, smiling at Kiba.

Kiba looked away. "B-But that's just…"

"Insane," Naruto breathed, realizing Sakura really did what Houren said. If he was in her shoes, he would have done the same.

"So Sasuke was living off of Sakura?" Chouji asked.

"Yes," Houren answered.

"But Sasuke recovered!" Naruto said.

Houren looked at him. "The technique Sakura did was irreversible," he said. "Once a chakra circulatory system is connected to another, it cannot be undone. The bridge can be severed though but only if the host or the parasite dies."

"If Sakura or Sasuke dies," Shikamaru said.

Houren nodded.

"But eventually, Sakura will die," Neji said. "Since Sasuke's body and chakra techniques demand a lot of chakra."

"Chakra that Sakura can't sustain," Kiba added.

Naruto closed his eyes to calm himself. He took a deep breath and clenched his fists. "What happened?" he asked calmly. "Where is she?"

Houren smiled. "We'll get to that," he said. "By some ungodly turn of events, one of my descendants got hold of an artifact. My grandson used it to create a plague in their village, on the northern mountains. Sakura and the ANBU got infected with a far more destructive strain of the disease while curing the villagers. She was the only one who survived it in the end. Hoping to warn Konoha about the power of the artifact, she decided to write a scroll – a scroll that Sasuke was ordered to retieve."

"Sasuke's mission," Naruto said, looking up at Houren.

Houren nodded. "But that wasn't his only mission," he said. "Sakura did so much for my family and for the villagers that we all thought she deserved to die peacefully with less pain and suffering than the disease would give her."

"Sasuke's mission included killing Sakura," Shikamaru said.

Naruto glared at Shikamaru. "You and I are going to have a **long** talk."

Shikamaru sighed. "I just put two and two together."

"That is correct though," Houren said. "But Sakura did one other thing to Sasuke, before she left Konoha. And that one thing let him open up to the feelings he had distanced himself from."

"So that's what happened!" Chouji exclaimed. "I thought he just hit his head hard that day."

"What?" Naruto asked, looking confused at everyone. "What are you talking about?"

"Sakura took his rage," Shikamaru said. "She took any stimulus Sasuke had that would trigger a rampage against Konoha. That was what saved him from death penalty."

"WHAT?!" Naruto exclaimed. "Sakura can do that?!"

"With my guidance, yes," Houren said. "That was one other knowledge of mine that I gave her – how to absorb another person's memories. She tweaked it to create a far more damaging technique – how to absorb Sasuke's haunting memories, and his ability to feel anything that would trigger rage."

Naruto just gaped at Houren.

"Going on," Houren said. "My grandson tricked Sasuke into hating Sakura for saving him. He tried to kill Sakura, but he had grown too much of a conscience to do it."

"Damn right, he's not going to kill her!" Naruto said, standing up. "He's not going to hurt her!"

"He tried to kill her several times," Kiba muttered.

"Sasuke's back to his old self now," Naruto reasoned.

"Which old self?" Chouji asked.

"His **real** self!" Naruto answered.

Houren loudly cleared his throat. "I'm about to reach the part where you all know what happened to Sakura," he said.

Naruto sat down and looked intently at Houren.

Houren smiled. "Long story short, Sasuke defeated my grandson and he chose to go back to Konoha with Sakura."

"But he was al-"

"He knows that, Naruto," Shikamaru said.

Naruto closed his mouth.

"Sakura wouldn't have survived the trip," Houren continued. "She was almost dead when Sasuke was on his way down the mountain. I waned to help Sakura but have overstayed in your world too long, and our elders had kept my physical body from existing in your world. I had to go back here or what was left of my family would be killed. So I made a deal with Sasuke."

"A deal?" Naruto asked.

"That's why he's here!" Chouji said.

"Yes," Houren said. "The deal was I would take Sakura with me here, to my world, and do my best to save her. In exchange, he would work for me."

"He took the deal," Naruto said.

"But he stayed in Konoha for a year," Kiba said.

"It would take years for Sakura to fully recover in your world," Houren said. "But we have healing techniques here that speed up the healing process, reducing Sakura's recovery time to one year. But it doesn't always work. Either way, the deal was that Sasuke would work for me in exchange for my efforts to save her."

Naruto looked down at his ramen bowl, remembering how Sasuke acted since he got back from his mission.

"He looked worried when I asked him about Sakura," he said. "Hopeful …but worried."

Houren nodded.

"You've made this deal with Jirotaiku too," Shikamaru said.

"Something similar, yes," Houren said. "I didn't expect Sakura to still choose death after all the things we've done to keep her alive. But that's another story. Shall I continue?"

"Yes," his guests answered.

Houren nodded. "I took Sakura with me here and did my end of the deal," he said. "But there were… complications."

"Her amnesia," Neji said.

"I had to erase her memories," Houren said.

"**WHAT?!**" Naruto exclaimed, slamming his hands on the table. "**You** erased her memories?!"

Houren looked at him. "My grandson had her in custody for a time," he said. "He was planning to execute her in front of the surviving villagers when Sasuke came to her rescue, and Sasuke defeated my grandson. I didn't know my grandson trapped her in an illusion until I saw her unconscious and dying while Sasuke was busy fighting. And I didn't know how destructive the illusion was until Sakura woke up from the treatment we gave her here."

Shikamaru looked down at the table, his arms crossed over his chest. Sakura underwent some kind of mental torture that left a drastic effect on her state of mind. But what kind of illusion could cause that effect on her?

Considering Sakura's state of mind before she left Konoha, Shikamaru deduced it would have something to do with what she had recently done – the secret she kept even from Ino. Guilt, shame, regret, and pain filled her mind at the time.

Shikamaru froze.

It made perfect sense!

Houren took a deep breath and sighed. "When Sakura first woke up," he began. "She looked confused, which was normal. She had no idea where she was and what happened to her. While I explained everything to her, she changed. What I told her helped her recall the events that she was supposed to remember. She began to feel frightened, confused, guilty… She went from calm to hysterical. When she realized she was still alive, she ran out of the recovery room. We were in the third floor of the temple's inner building then. She jumped out of the nearest window. Luckily, I was able to get her before she killed her self."

Silence filled the room. Shock and confusion hovered over them.

"She tried to commit suicide several times after that," Houren continued. "We had to lock her up in a straightjacket. She tried to starve her self. We had to put her to sleep and feed her body through an IV to keep her alive. She used anything she could find to kill her self. At one point, she banged her head on the wall."

"I… I don't understand," Naruto finally said.

Houren looked sadly at Naruto. "She kept saying something about how she had to be dead so Sasuke could defend himself," he said. "Remember that technique she did on him? The one where he made Sasuke use her chakra?"

Naruto nodded.

"Since she didn't have enough chakra to sustain his needs, Sasuke couldn't do all the techniques he knew," Houren said.

"That's why he had a hard time with doing the chidori after he woke up from the coma," Naruto quietly said.

"Sakura also mentioned something about Sasuke being attacked – about people she knew in Konoha who would kill him," Houren said. "And because Sasuke couldn't do much of his techniques-"

"Sakura wanted to break the connection she made by killing herself," Shikamaru said.

Kiba frowned. "So the invisible bridge she made between her chakra circulatory system and Sasuke's is still there? She's still going to die?"

"Not because of the connection, I assure you," Houren answered. "Somewhere in Sasuke and Sakura's ordeal in the mountains, Sakura's heartbeat stopped – signaling her death. That broke the connection. When I revived her, the connection had been severed. Sasuke is now getting chakra from his own chakra circulatory system."

"Have you tried explaining that to her?" Neji asked.

"Yes," Houren said. "But she eventually became too catatonic to understand anything we were trying to say to her."

"That's some mental torture," Kiba muttered.

"But Sakura's a great ninja," Naruto said. "She's good at genjutsu! She could've known she was being tricked!"

"Her physical senses were impaired while she was trapped in the illusion," Houren explained. "She was stripped of physical hearing and touch – of any access to hints that she was being deceived. The illusion created sensations in her brain."

"And her state of mind enhanced the effect of the illusion," Shikamaru said.

Houren nodded. "The illusion should have stopped when my grandson died," he said. "But since she lost the ability to process any external stimuli, her mind considered the illusion as her reality and fed it with things from her memory, dreams, and emotions."

"You're saying she unconsciously made the illusion real for her," Neji said.

"Yes," Houren answered.

"Is there a way to tell her she got it all wrong?" Kiba asked.

"We've been trying to look for that way," Houren said. "It hadn't been that fruitful so far."

"But why did you have to erase all of her memories?" Naruto asked. "Why didn't you just erase the illusion from her head?"

"I didn't really erase her memories," Houren said. "I **hid** them – I pulled it out from her immediate consciousness and kept it somewhere she won't have access to it unless she is triggered to do so. Messing with memories is dangerous because memories don't only consist of records of one's experiences. They also consist of programs – steps in the processes performed by the body and every cell inside it. Delete one of those memories and she dies."

"But you've tried to just hide that particular memory, right?" Chouji asked.

"Yes," Houren said. "And it didn't go well. Her memories of Konoha pulled the memory back into her consciousness – messing her memory of Konoha entirely. I had to hide her memories of Konoha and everyone related to it to put her in the stable mental state where she is today."

Naruto cursed. "There **has** to be a way to make her remember without making her kill her self!"

"There is one theory that we are yet to test," Houren said. "And that is to use one of the missing relics."

"That's why Sasuke is after them," Kiba said. "How did the relics get in **our** world anyway?"

"After the relics were made, it was scattered all over this world," Houren said. "…Leaving only one of the relics – the most powerful one – here, in the temple. Turning corpses, or 'vessels' as we immortals call them, into relics is a technique only known by immortals holding great power and position in the temple. And she, from whose body the relics were made, was one of those immortals. As the youngest one to be promoted keeper of the artifacts, she was given the honor of creating her own artifact even when she was still alive. And that artifact she made was one of those that had been stolen."

"It had knowledge about the relics," Shikamaru said.

"Yes," Houren answered. "It had the knowledge of creating relics, using them, and summoning them."

"Summoning them..?" Chouji asked.

"You must understand that the relics were created from a vessel," Houren said. "A matter that limits and shapes the energy we have. We immortals, depending on the degree of power we have, can clear the demarcation line between our body and our soul to the point that our bodies can live without our soul."

Naruto frowned, confused at what Houren was saying. "You mean it becomes your clone?"

"No," Houren said. "I mean our body doesn't rot when we get out of our bodies. Some of our energy is left in the vessel and that energy sustains it in an unending cycle of renewing used up energy."

"Wait!" Kiba exclaimed. "So these relics look like… **innards**?!"

"No," Houren answered. "We're not that morbid, although yes that is what they look like in the first stage of creating relics. We transfigured the body parts into inconspicuous things – crystals, stones, trinkets. But they kept the general shape of what they once were. One of the relics, for example, a red teardrop ruby was once a heart."

"It looks a little like the shape of the heart," Shikamaru said.

Houren nodded.

"Oh," Chouji said. "I think I get it."

"Me too," Kiba said, nodding.

"Going back to the question on how relics can be summoned," Houren said. "These body parts, though separated from each other and lacking a soul, are still very much alive and powerful. They don't think, but they have an innate response to a particular stimulus – one that comes from the relic we kept here in the temple."

"So you can summon the relics using the one you keep here," Shikamaru said.

"Yes," Houren answered. "Unfortunately, we also lost that relic."

"Wait- What?!" Naruto exclaimed. "You mean thieves stole it from you again?"

"More like a traitor in our ranks," Houren said. "He has moved to your world and he's leading the group that is planning to annihilate your village."

"Why our village?" Neji asked

"Yeah!" Kiba said. "Why Konoha?!"

"Your village is considered the strongest ninja village," Houren said. "Defeating you will give him a name that would scare any ninja village and country in your world."

"So Sasuke's hunting them down," Shikamaru said. "One by one."

Houren nodded. "The deal with him was extended since retrieving the relics could also help Sakura."

"Wow," Kiba muttered. "Uchiha's really working his ass off for Sakura..?"

"If the relics could be summoned," Neji said. "Why does it seem like whoever summoned them still doesn't have all of the relics?"

Hourned nodded. "That's because he did not know how the relics were scattered in this world," he said. "There are places in your world that are parallel to ours. When he summoned the relics, he was in your world, and the relics had to cross into your dimension to adhere to the call. Though the relics are powerful enough to sustain themselves, such feat of crossing dimensional barriers weakens it. Add to that the effect your world has with things from our world."

"What effect?" Shikamaru asked.

"Since we don't belong in your dimension," Houren said. "Much of our actualities are reduced when we step into your dimension. For example, I can transform into a different creäture at this very moment. But if I cross to your world, I can only stay in human form."

"What the hell are you?" Kiba breathed.

Houren smiled.

"So the relics are weak," Shikamaru said.

"Yes," Houren answered. "Weak enough that once they cross the dimensional barrier, they stay in whatever place in the other world they arrive in, instead of going to where the relic that summoned it is kept."

"If it's already weak," Naruto said. "Why does it still post a threat to us?"

"The right question is how weak is it when it moves to our world," Shikamaru said.

"...So weak it would look more like some other stone you find on the roadside," Houren said. "And that makes it almost impossible to find in your world."

"EH? What's all the fuss about then?" Chouji asked.

"Again," Houren said. "The relics are alive. They were merely weakened. And there is a way for relic to replenish its strength."

"Chakra?" Naruto asked.

"Close," Houren replied. "Chakra and sacrifice – human sacrifice."


	6. Chapter 6

_Thank you all so much for reading Reconnaisance! _^ v ^

_"_YOU SAID YOU NEVER MADE SEQUELS!You crushed all my dreams and then you make one?! Whyyy" - _um... I honestly don't remember saying anything about me not making a sequel. I do remember saying that I don't write epilogues though, and I really don't. I write sneak peaks or prologues to sequels, which is what I uploaded on Scroll before uploading Reconnaisance. _

_I understand a lot of you want to see how Sasuke and Sakura ended up together, and what kind of relationship it is that they are sharing. But things here, like anything else in life, happen in due time. _* v * _When that time is though, is something I can't tell you through an A/N. _

_Anyway, here's this week's chapter. Do tell me what you think about it _^ v ^

* * *

Sasuke walked out to the balcony of the temple's inner tower, after lighting up the gold bowl torches of its spacious hall. The breeze was cold and steady in the tower's seventh floor. And from there, he could see the colossal rock basin that cradled Seiiki. It was early in the evening and the full moon was slowly rising up to its throne in the clouds.

The temple's inner towers served as quarters for its servants, keepers, and guests. Situated behind the branched temple buildings, and reaching up to the sky with eight vast floors, the tower also served as Seiiki's watchtower.

Sasuke looked out at the dark horizon, admiring the soft yellow hues that marked where the village began and ended in the sea of shadows. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, listening to the wind… to its hymn… to the rhythm he had learned to listen to…

A low rumble hummed with his heartbeat. Sasuke opened his eyes.

The elders were on their way.

One of the functions of the 7th floor hall was welcoming the elders' return from their trip around Seiiki.

Sasuke turned around and walked into the spacious hall. Except for the massive red pillars supporting its ceiling and the flaming bowl torches, it was empty – just as the elders' reception room should be.

He watched the massive doors open, knowing well who was behind them.

"Houren," he greeted as Houren looked at him. Flanking Houren were Naruto, Kiba, Shikamaru and Neji. Chouji, Shino and Akamaru were behind them. Each of his friends was clad in a beige kimono – commoner clothes in Seiiki.

Sasuke had heard about how Houren led his guests to their quarters to rest and digest what they had learned so far, after lunch. They were also given a change of clothes so they blended in with the people in the temple.

"Sasuke," Houren greeted as he led them inside the room.

Sasuke turned away from them, standing in the middle of the room and facing the balcony.

Naruto was trying to call his attention by staring at him. Luckily, Houren seemed to have briefed them about what should and should not be done with Sasuke, especially when in the reception hall.

Houren stood beside Sasuke. "How is she?"

"She's working again," he said.

Houren nodded. "Always a workaholic," he said. "And here I thought your return would encourage her to get some time off."

"I'm not exactly free to be with her at the moment," Sasuke said.

Houren sighed. "True," he muttered.

The others stayed four steps behind them – wary and curious at what was going on.

A loud howl filled the air.

Houren turned to look at the others and waved his hand, telling them to kneel.

Sasuke felt the others behind him obey, kneeling down on their knees.

Sasuke closed his eyes, expecting to feel that surge he knew so well…

And it came – an enormous blast rumbling in the air… crawling in his veins… trembling in his limbs… jostling his insides… ringing in his ears.

He felt his friends stiffen – shock and confusion filling their auras.

Sasuke opened his eyes and allowed the invisible force to move him – make him kneel on one knee as Houren had done beside him.

The first time he felt it, he had to lie flat on his chest against the floor. His limbs trembled so much he couldn't stand on his feet. I was like if he fought against it, he would be hurled to the door.

A low hum rushed in from the balcony, bouncing on the walls… roaming swiftly around the room.

The hairs on his skin stood, every nerve in his body cringing at the current consuming the air. Chills crept up his spine. Sasuke knew, by how rigid Naruto and the others were behind him, that the current had the same effect on his friends.

Light burst into the balcony – a high-pitched deafening growl bouncing off the walls and rumbling through the floor.

Naruto, Kiba, and Chouji glanced at each other. It was like an earth-shattering earthquake was brewing and the floor was going to collapse.

Shikamaru noticed the red flames on the bowl torches flare and turn into raging tongues of white flame. Neji winced.

The the air was beginning to push Naruto, Kiba, Akamaru, Chouji, Shikamaru, Neji and Shino's faces on the floor. It was also starting to push them further away from Sasuke and Houren.

Sasuke felt each of his friends pump chakra onto their hands – strengthening their grip on the smooth wood floor.

Houren rolled his eyes. "Oh for goodness' sake," he hissed. "We won't bring them here if they're that much of a threat."

The air softened. But before Naruto, Kiba, Akamaru, Chouji, Shikamaru, Neji and Shino could calm themselves, a speeding ray of light struck the balcony. It bounced to the ceiling and floated in circles above their heads.

It was followed by three more rays of light that swiftly flew around the room – each light moving in the opposite direction of the other, around the people in the room.

Naruto, Kiba, Akamaru, Chouji, Shikamaru, Neji and Shino froze as their eyes adjusted to the blinding light flooding the vast hall. The lights that flew in from the nightsky like crashing comets – the light hovering over and around them – were not rays of light. They were massive long-bodied creatures with shimmering glass scales. The scales seemed to cover a white glittered skin.

Strands of fine white hair brushed their cheeks as the creatures flew around them. Shikamaru noticed how the strands resembled the vane of a bird's feather – soft and light.

Chouji swallowed when he caught sight of the creatures' heads – massive reptile-like heads with shiny silver skin. And soon, Naruto, Kiba, Akamaru, Shikamaru, Neji and Shino were given a clear view of the creatures' faces.

"Dragons..?" Shikamaru breathed, astounded at the sight of the enormous creatures flying around and above them. Each creature had four limbs – legs with pointed claws. Their nails resembled pearls.

The three dragons swooped into the group, each of them flying around Naruto, Kiba, Akamaru, Chouji, Shikamaru, Neji and Shino. They then flew to the space in front of Sasuke and Houren – landing gracefully on their silver hind legs. They're deep sapphire eyes examined Houren and Sasuke who were bowing their heads.

The largest and longest of the three – the one hovering near the ceiling – was the last to swoop down and land on the floor in front of Sasuke and Houren. Despite standing tall on its hind legs in front of the three dragons, its tail still made a loop around the group of humans in the room.

The glass scales of the creatures shattered into shimmering dust, spreading another burst of white light in the room. Naruto, Kiba, Akamaru, Chouji, Shikamaru, Neji and Shino covered their eyes. When they opened their eyes again, four middle-aged men stood in the place of the dragons.

Each of them wore a shimmering white kimono. Their hakama looked like the white skin the dragons' glass scales protected. The silk haori each of them wore were embroidered with various intricate silver designs forming what seemed to be emblems.

The men were tall – their piercing eyes resembling white pearls. Their long, white and were tied behind their back. Wrinkles made their faces seem old and wise.

"I suppose you have good news," the man, Naruto, Kiba, Akamaru, Chouji, Shikamaru, Neji and Shino assumed to be the largest dragon, sternly said as he eyed Sasuke sharply.

"Yes," Sasuke answered, keeping his eyes on the floor.

The man nodded and walked closer to Sasuke. He reached his boney hand out – his long sharp nails shimerring like pearl in the warm light of the room. Naruto, Kiba, Akamaru, Chouji, Shikamaru, Neji and Shino rigidly watched the man touch the gold cord holding Sasuke's long hair. The gold hue transformed into gold scales quickly tumbling like stacked dominoes to reveal a black fabric. By the time the man's hand was far from the cord, the gold knot had turned into a black band.

"Thank you," Sasuke said. "I have retrieved the Machus relic from the trader. I have also gathered information on the looters."

"Good," the man said. "And these…hmm… these…"

"Konoha ninjas," Houren said.

The man scrunched his nose. "Mortals," he muttered. "They are under your command?" he asked Sasuke.

"They are under mine," Houren said. "I have given them a task to help us resolve this…predicament."

Naruto, Kiba, Akamaru, Chouji, Shikamaru, Neji and Shino didn't know what was going on, but the energy in the room kept them from saying or doing anything other than look dumbly at the four towering men in white.

The man glared at them though – his eyes piercing through the strings of their being.

Naruto, Kiba, Akamaru, Chouji, Shikamaru, Neji and Shino could feel their insides churn – every nerve in their body cringed.

"Are they capable pawns?" the man asked.

Naruto wanted to scold the old man for calling them "pawns" but he couldn't, for the life of him, muster any strength to do it.

"They are some of the best in their field," Sasuke answered, knowing just how the elders' thoughts worked. Mortals for them were ants – there to be of use to nature, and nothing more. To have them in their side in the midst of war would only mean having dispensable tools, no matter how good in battle they were. "And they fully understand the situation."

"You are sure of this?" the man asked Sasuke – his tone harsh and mocking.

"I bet my life on it," Sasuke answered.

"Very well then," the man said smiling widely at Sasuke. "If they mess up, we will have you for dinner."

Naruto, Kiba, Akamaru, Chouji, Shikamaru, Neji and Shino froze.

"Thank you," Sasuke said, lowering his head further as a sign of respect. He never liked paying such courtly respects but he had to admit that after a year of knowing them, the old men had earned it.

The man snorted and walked around the group – the three other men following him. "Who would ever think these mortals would persuade Sasuke to bet his life," he said. "And here I thought threatening Sakura's life would be the only way we could eat him."

Naruto, Kiba, Akamaru, Chouji, Shikamaru, Neji and Shino felt confused. Did the man really want to eat Sasuke?

"Speaking of Sakura, where **is** that girl?" the man said, turning to Sasuke.

Sasuke and Houren got on their feet and faced the four men.

"She is in the clinic," Sasuke answered, looking calmly at them. "…Assisting the patients who would be spending the night there."

"Have you not seen her yet?" the man asked sharply, raising a menacing brow at him.

"I have," Sasuke answered.

"You know how she **adores **her patients," Houren said.

The man nodded. "We will convene in the hall," he said as he led his friends out the door.

It wasn't until the four men walked out the door, that Naruto, Kiba, Akamaru, Chouji, Shikamaru, Neji and Shino felt something heavy lift from their shoulders. They all gasped for air, realizing each of them had held their breath while the dragons were in the room. Each of them shakily stood up, still trembling from the experience.

"Wh-What the hell… was that?" Neji asked, looking at Houren.

"That's the specter of the elders," Houren answered. "Delightful, isn't it?"

Naruto, Kiba, Akamaru, Chouji, Shikamaru, Neji and Shino stared incredulously at Houren.

Houren chuckled. "They are some of the elders' chakra – transformed to have lives of their own, and take it upon them to ensure the security of the elders. You're all lucky you survived," he said. "Other mortals who had witnessed their arrival never got up from that floor. They were squished to death like insects by the chakra you felt earlier."

Naruto, Kiba, Akamaru, Chouji, Shikamaru, Neji and Shino couldn't help but cringe.

"I'll be going to the clinic now," Sasuke said, looking at Houren.

"Yes, do go ahead," Houren said. "I've ordered the vestals to prepare your dinner."

"I'll talk to all of you later," Sasuke told Naruto before he quickly ran out of the room.

Naruto, Kiba, Akamaru, Chouji, Shikamaru, Neji and Shino could only watch Sasuke go. Their bodies felt too tired to question him or run after him.

"The old men are very fond of Sakura-chan," Houren said.

They stared at Houren.

Houren sighed. "It's been a while since we had a female healer here," he said. "They treat her as their own daughter. They even wanted to wipe out her memory of your world completely and turn her into an immortal."

"**WHAT?!**" Naruto exclaimed. "Th-They wanted her to be like **them**?!"

Naruto could imagine a pink dragon flying above his head. He cringed and shook his head. That was **not** a good picture.

Houren smiled. "Sakura is intelligent, studious, and she likes to protect people even if it costs her life," he said. "Those are traits they had always wanted for their daughter."

"They're all men though," Kiba said. "So they can't have a daughter."

"Kiba! You pervert!" Naruto shouted.

"I'm just stating a fact!" Kiba shouted back, his cheeks slightly flushed at the accusation.

Houren chuckled. "We immortals don't do what you mortals do to have children," he said. "Though I must say, your method is quiet an exhilarating activity."

Neji, Kiba and Chouji looked away – their cheeks flushed. Shikamaru sighed, muttering 'troublesome.' Naruto raised his brows at Houren.

"Eh?" he said. "What do you do then?"

"We give up some of ourselves to create a new life," Houren answered. "…Like cutting a piece of our hearts, donating some of our bones, shedding some of our flesh, sharing some of our chakra… That was how my sister was born."

"You have a sister?" Shikamaru asked.

Houren smirked and looked away. "I had one, yes." He began to walk out the room. "I'll tour you around the temple now. Follow me."

Naruto, Kiba, Chouji, Neji and Shikamaru glanced at each other.

* * *

"You know something about these relics," Tsunade said, eyeing Jirotaiku sharply.

It was dawn when the ANBU returned from their mission to gather information on the mysterious group plotting against Konoha. Jirotaiku told them about a planned attack on Konoha that night. So the ANBU rushed back to the village.

Realizing Jirotaiku had tricked them, Ibiki ordered Jirotaiku to explain his actions to the Hokage.

"Unfortunately," Jirotaiku said, standing in front of Tsunade in her office. "I do."

"Let's have it then," Tsunade said, leaning forward and looking intently at Jirotaiku.

"Not so fast," Jirotaiku said. "There's something else you need to know."

Tsunade raised a brow at him.

"One, Uchiha Sasuke, and most likely, Sakura, are involved in this mess," Jirotaiku said.

Tsunade frowned. "Are they on our side?"

"I believe so," Jirotaiku said. "…Which is, of course, good news. The bad news is – the second thing you need to know – we'll need the help of someone **else** to resolve this… concern."

Tsunade leaned back on her chair. "That immortal mentor of Sakura's?"

Jirotaiku nodded. "The relics are from their side of the fence," he said.

"So we need to return those relics to them," Tsunade said, sighing.

"Yes," Jirotaiku answered.

"Those relics were on **their** side of the fence though before this mess began, correct?" Tsunade asked.

"Yes," Jirotaiku said.

"So," Tsunade said, leaning back on her chair. "We have no assurance that this… ruckus… won't happen again if the relics are returned to them."

"That is true," Jirotaiku replied. "I know what you think should be done instead of returning the relics to them, and as much as I would love to confirm that your plan is the best way to end this problem I would have to say that it's not."

Tsunade sighed. "Because they'll kill us if we destroyed the relics?"

"No," Jirotaiku answered. "…Because we can't destroy the relics. It's just not possible…from our end."

Tsunade frowned. "Explain," she said, glaring at Jirotaiku.

Jirotaiku smiled at her. "Relics, as you may already know, are body parts of a venerated person," he said. "In this case however, the relics were once body parts of an immortal sanctioned to death or, rather, eternal exile. Their bodies aren't exactly your usual corpse."

"What's so special about these relics?" Tsunade asked.

"They have lives of their own," Jirotaiku answered. "They don't think, like Kisame's Samaheda. But they need sustainance to live. Do you recall the alarming reports of kidnapping in several villages in the country?"

"Including reports of missing ninjas in alliance ninja villages," Tsunade said grimly – the connection taking shape in her mind.

"That's one thing I've confirmed in tonight's mission," Jirotaiku said.

Tsunade raised her brow at him.

"I've spotted one of our enemies, feeding a relic," Jirotaiku continued.

"With what?" Tsunade asked.

"Blood," he answered. "…Blood from the heart of a human sacrifice. I believe the village where the group is staying in is where the kidnapped and missing people are kept."

"To feed these relics..?"

Jirotaiku nodded. "I spotted one of the members of the group getting into a hotel, and employing a woman. Instead of the usual evening transaction however…"

"He killed the woman," Tsunade said, frowning.

"He left, notifying the hotel staff of the corpse in the room," Jirotaiku continued. "The staff went on to remove the corpse and tidy up the room as if it was how it always operated."

Tsunade cursed, and looked away. "They're kidnapping people and selling them to these monsters?"

"We need more than just sharing information with the other ninja villages," Jirotaiku said. "This isn't just a war waged against us. This is against everyone in this country… and more."

Tsunade looked up at him. "I want a full report by tonight," she said. "And I want every detail – every minute stain and spot in this problem. We'll discuss this with Ibiki, and the elders. Make sure you're also ready to prepare your report to every Kage we know."

"I will, Hokage-sama," Jirotaiku said.

Tsunade sighed and waved him off.

Jirotaiku bowed and turned to walk to the door.

"Wait," Tsunade said. "We'll need to inform those snotty immortals."

"I believe Sasuke's already on it," Jirotaiku said. "I believe it is only now that he was able to convince their elders that cooperating with us is necessary. But I think he had been on the case for a while now."

Tsunade looked at him. "So he was really dropping hints to help us," she said.

"Houren told me about how stingy their elders could be," Jirotaiku said. "They might have made sure Sasuke wouldn't be able to talk about it to anyone from our side of the fence."

Tsunade nodded. Knowing Sasuke was working for their side was already a relief. And confirming that Sakura was alive made her feel a tad bit better about what was going on. With the two of them back in the picture, they had a slight chance against their mysterious enemy.

"Do you know anything about the mission I gave to Nara?" Tsunade asked.

Jirotaiku smirked. "I bet they've confirmed the same thing I told you," he said. "The only difference is they saw it first-hand in the underground trade. And I bet Sasuke's got them under his wing this very moment. I don't think he would request all of them to be dispatched in that particular area just to drop hints on them. After all, Naruto's not exactly the type to catch hints."

Tsunade nodded. "You may go."


	7. Chapter 7

_Yo! Sorry for the late update. I had a little foot injury to attend to ^ v ^ _

_Thank you all so much for reading "Reconnaisance." * v * _

_Anyway, here's last week and this week's chapter (since I'm busy again and I need to get some nice and comfy bedrest)._

* * *

"Those elders are giant lizards," Kiba said as they walked down the hall.

"Kiba!" Chouji hissed. "They might hear you!"

Houren burst into laughter. "That's one way of putting it," he said.

"Do all immortals here look like them?" Neji asked, walking beside Shikamaru and Houren.

They were on their way to the "Convening Hall," where the elders said they would discuss serious matters with Houren and Sasuke. Of course, playing vital roles in the "predicament," Naruto and the others were given an invitation to attend the meeting.

"No," Houren said. "Like I said, immortals here are of various kinds. That also means they have various forms."

"So the elders really aren't humans?" Chouji asked, walking beside Naruto and Kiba.

"Correct," Houren said. "Though they still share some biological traits with humans, they are far more… different than the general humankind."

"Superior?" Kiba asked.

Houren chuckled. "I wouldn't say that," he said. "They lack many of the marvelous things mortals, especially humans, have. So I don't consider them superior. They have not, for example, experienced hormonal surges and perversions the way all of you have."

"OI! I'm **not** a pervert!" Naruto, Kiba and Chouji yelled.

Neji and Shino ignored the comment. Shikamaru just sighed.

Houren chuckled.

"You're an immortal though," Shino said, walking behind Neji.

Houren nodded.

"You're like them," Shino continued.

"No," Houren said, smiling at him. "I'm very proud to admit that I have been human once!"

"Right," Kiba said. "You had a family in our world."

Houren nodded.

"But you're still and immortal," Shikamaru said. "You're like the elders too – massive, overgrown lizards."

Houren smiled. "Sometimes," he said. "But I'm not permitted to go out of the temple anymore so I stay in my human form."

"Because you had a family in our world," Neji said.

"Yes," Houren replied.

"Are the elders your biological parents?" Shikamaru asked.

Houren chuckled. "No," he said. "Thank heavens they are not. My biological father moved-on milleniums ago."

"You don't make girls here, do you?" Kiba said.

"Oh we've had plenty before," Houren said. "And since we don't really need them to procreate, we make them more for the sake of variety and balance than necessity."

"Where are they?" Naruto asked.

Houren smiled. "You're all very observant," he said. "Then again, it's quite apparent, isn't it?"

"So where are they?" Chouji asked.

"They were exiled," Houren said.

Naruto, Chouji and Kiba stared confused at Houren.

"Exiled?" Kiba asked. "Why were they exiled?"

"Was this after your sister's body was turned into relics?" Shikamaru asked.

Houren stopped walking. All casual cheer and warmth vanished from his face.

Naruto, Chouji, Kiba, and Neji stiffened. Chills were suddenly creeping up their spine. Shikamaru and Shino calmly watched Houren, curious as to how their host would react.

"You will not speak of this again," Houren finally said – his cold eyes fixed at nowhere. "The walls have ears."

He began to walk forward again. "Come," he said. "Sasuke should be done with their dinner."

Naruto, Chouji, Kiba and Neji couldn't help but give out a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, about that," Naruto said. "Why didn't we have dinner with Sasuke and Sakura?"

"Don't worry," Houren said. "It's just Sakura's busy schedule and the arrival of the elders that kept them away from dinner with us. We'll have breakfast with them tomorrow."

Naruto nodded.

Chouji and Kiba glanced at each other. Both of them were wondering just how the breakfast would go with Sakura freaked out at them and all.

* * *

The Convening Hall looked more like a mixture of an arena and a justice hall, with audience boxes surrounding a vast space in the middle of the room, and four solid gold seats across the entrance door that seemed to be for the panel of judges tasked to declare a winner.

The four grand seats however, that rivaled the seats of mortal kings and emperors, were occupied by the four elders – each of them looking blankly at the space in front of them where Sasuke stood, as if he was a criminal attending his trial.

Naruto, Kiba, Chouji, Shikamaru, Neji and Shino sat on the audience boxes on the elders' right. Houren sat with them.

"Before we begin," the leading elder said, sitting straight and sharply on his gold seat. "We have guests that need to be introduced."

The three other elders turned to look at where Naruto and the others sat.

"These are ninjas from the village of Konoha," Sasuke began. "They were sent to the underground auction to gather information on The Trader."

"As planned," the lead elder said, smirking.

Naruto, and Kiba froze. They glanced at each other, then looked at Shikamaru.

He looked calm and composed.

Shikamaru knew the plan!

"He's got a lot of explaining to do," Kiba hissed.

"Hush," Houren whispered. "Remember what I told you?"

Naruto and Kiba stiffly nodded. Like in the usual justice court, none of them was allowed to speak unless they were spoken to.

"So they want to cooperate," said one of the elders – the one seated on the lead elder's left.

"They are willing to do so, yes," Sasuke answered.

"Your names?" said another elder, the one on the lead elder's right. He was looking at Naruto.

Houren loudly cleared his throat. "Introduce your selves," he said.

"Nara Shikamaru," Shikamaru said.

"Hyuuga Neji," Neji followed.

"Aburame Shino."

"Akimitsu Chouji."

"Inuzuka Kiba."

"Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto said, standing up from his seat – a feat that Houren told them not to do before they headed to the convening hall.

Houren glanced at Naruto.

His blue eyes were looking sharply at the elders.

"Sasuke and Sakura are my team mates," he said.

Sasuke frowned. Of course Naruto would break the rules. He wouldn't be Naruto if he didn't break them.

The elders eyed Naruto with disdain. "Stubborn," the lead elder said. "As expected."

"Sasuke's told you about all of us then," Naruto said.

"Of course," the lead elder said. "We wouldn't let you stay here if he didn't. We don't like having visitors from your world."

"And yet you want to keep Sakura here," Naruto spat.

Kiba and Chouji glanced anxiously at Naruto.

"Ah yes," the lead elder said. "Then again, she's an entirely different case, isn't she? She, afterall, has no memory of being… with you."

Naruto glared at the lead elder. But before he could reply obscenities to the old man, Shikamaru covered Naruto's mouth from behind.

"My sincere apologies," Shikamaru said. "He hasn't drank his medicine."

The lead elder grunted. "There is no medicine for stupidity," he said. "Then again, we're also being impolite so allow me to introduce myself. My name is Hokuryu."

"Nishiryu," said the elder in Hokuryu's right – his voice soft and quiet.

"Azumaryu," said the elder in Hokuryu's left – his voice bright and lively.

"Minamiryu," said the elder seated next to Azumaryu. His voice sounded like it came from beyond the ground though he seemed to be the thinnest of the elders.

"We guard this realm," Hokuryu said. "…Each of us taking charge of our own territory."

"Who of you was in-charge when your trinkets were stolen and it brought problems in **our** realm?" Naruto asked sharply, hurling Shikamaru's hand away from his mouth.

"That is none of your business," Hokuryu answered calmy. "You are all here because Uchiha Sasuke told us you would be willing to cooperate to resolve this matter."

"Your **things** are messing up our people!" Naruto exclaimed. "We have a **right** to know **everything** about what's going on!"

Kiba sighed. Naruto had put their lives in jeopardy. Why couldn't he just shut his mouth for once?

Shikamaru was shaking his head. Covering Naruto's mouth was useless. "Couldn't you wait a little longer?" he hissed.

Naruto glared at him. "Well, you're not telling us anything, are you?"

"**Dobe.**"

Everyone turned to look at Sasuke. He was looking up at Naruto with his calm dark eyes.

Naruto snorted and looked away. He knew what Sasuke wanted him to do and he didn't like it.

"They have not been fully informed on the matter," Sasuke calmly explained to the elders.

"As is proper," Azumaryu said.

Naruto folded his arms over his chest. "We're not going to help you old men unless you tell us everything!"

Kiba slapped his forehead. Chouji slammed his head on the table. Neji glared at Naruto. Shino sighed. Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

Houren coughed, covering the smile on his lips.

The four elders glanced at each other.

Houren cleared his throat. "With all due respect," he began. "I believe it wouldn't be fair to keep them in the dark."

Hokuryu looked at Houren. "**This** coming from **you**," he said with obvious distaste.

Houren kept his composure. Naruto, Kiba, Chouji, Shikamaru and Neji eyed him wearily.

"But very well," Hokuryu said. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell you more than we planned to let you know. Houren has already given the information to someone else in your world anyway."

"What?!" Kiba and Chouji hissed.

"Who did Houren tell?" Naruto asked.

"Jirotaiku," Shikamaru whispered.

Naruto looked at him.

Jirotaiku… his name rang a bell- THE NINJA SASUKE SPOKE TO WHEN HE CAME BACK TO KONOHA FROM HIS MISSION! THE ONE SAKURA MUST HAVE BEEN WITH IN HER LAST MISSION!

…The one Houren also happend to know…

"Where should we begin?" Hokuryu asked. "Oh and do take a seat, Sasuke."

Sasuke bowed and sat down – a white mist quickly rising from the floor to support his weight. The mist acted like a chair that was similar to what the elders were sitting on.

"With your permission," Shikamaru said, bowing to the elders.

The elders bowed back, giving him permission.

"I implore that you begin with the theft of the artifacts," Shikamaru said.

Hokuryu nodded grimly. "Houren has briefed you about it though, I presume?"

"Yes," Shikamaru said. "He had been kind enough to fill us in with the gist of what happened."

"You wish to know the specifics then," Hokuryu said. "Fortunately, we who exist in this realm are bound by… special decrees. They forbid us from disclosing some of the important facts on that matter. However, as a keen one as yourself, you will know how to get by with that information."

Shikamaru nodded. "Thank you," he said, bowing again.

Hokuryu bowed back. "What we can tell you is that all the artifacts had been recovered, thanks to your friend, Uchiha Sasuke," he said. "Though we employed him to do so as payment for keeping Haruno Sakura alive, we are grateful for the extra efforts he had given to get the artifacts back before the time we've agreed upon. He was also able to warn us of the trouble with the relics before the situation became uncontrollable."

"You call this situation 'controllable'?" Naruto snapped. "Innocent people could be **dying** as we speak!"

"We **know**," Hokuryu said. "But if he wasn't able to find that bit of warning at the time, you wouldn't be here talking to us. Konoha would have been dust six months ago. And I mean that in a literal way."

Naruto, Kiba, Chouji, Neji and Shino froze. Shikamaru frowned.

"It was a century ago when we sentenced a traitor from our ranks," Hokuryu said. "He planned on opening all the gates to your world, combining our dimensions into one singular realm. What he didn't understand was that our realm is too different from yours – that if his plan succeeded, our world will devour yours. Your world will cease to exist. And it wouldn't happen in one click. Every matter in your world will disintegrate. Your living beings will fall into decay while they breathe."

Silence filled the hall.

"Barriers between our territories were made for a reason," Minamiryu said. "And those barriers had not been raptured for trillions of years, allowing life to thrive in both our dimensions."

"The last time it was raptured, some of our kind spilled out to your world – giving birth to creatures that devastated your civilizations," Azumaryu said. "Your kind survived the chaos, however, which made us think your world and your beings could mingle with ours."

"But our essence is not the same," Nishiryu said. "You live your lives faster than we do. You grow and age at such short lengths of time and… you die or you are bound to die after living a shorter life than ours. And that limit – that mortality – made you all, by nature, selfish beings."

"OI!" Naruto shouted. "You're calling us selfish? What do you call yourselves?! You wanted to keep Sakura here as your own, when you know well she still has a family in Konoha!"

"We are enlightened," Hokuryu answered. "Tell me, Naruto. Are Sasuke and Sakura only **your** team mates? Are they not…Hatake Kakashi's team mates as well?"

Naruto stiffened. "Y-Your distorting my words!"

"No, I'm not," Hokuryu said, smiling calmly at him. "I am merely pointing out the selfish nature you mortals have. It's so innate to you that you exhibit it unconsciously, without you realizing it. **Your** life, **your** family, **your **property, **your** village – everything in your world always had to do something with **you**."

"What about here?" Kiba asked, standing up from his seat. "You call this your temple!"

"It is also the temple of anyone who wishes to claim it as theirs," Sasuke said.

Naruto, Kiba, Chouji, Neji, Shikamaru and Shino looked at Sasuke.

"Anyone can stay in the temple, even you," Sasuke said.

Naruto stared confused at Sasuke. Had he been brainwashed by the giant lizards?

"You have wars and crimes in your world because you have that desperate need to make the most out of your short existence," Hokuryu said. "…Because living life to the fullest for you revolves around satisfying your urges and experiencing pleasure."

"What about sacrificing for the ones you love, huh?" Kiba asked. "We do that!"

"Ah! Love," Hokuryu said, chuckling. "…Such a selfish concept. When you say you **love** a girl, what exactly do you mean? Do you mean it would be alright with you if that girl shares intimate relations with another man? Do you meat it would be alright with you if that girl chooses the other man over you?"

Kiba froze.

"When you say you **love** your family, does it mean you can put them last?" Hokuryu asked.

Houren closed his eyes.

"Love is a selfish act," Hokuryu said. "It makes you think you own a person, when in reality you do not. It makes you think it is **right** to own a person, when in fact it is wrong. It makes you think a person has responsibilities of serving you, and making you feel happy. Love makes you think you're unselfishly sacrificing so many things in your life when in fact, you're just throwing all those things away for a greater pleasure – calling someone your own, assuring yourself the constant presence of that person for the rest of your short existence, and establishing a constant source of one of your social needs."

"That's not love!" Naruto exclaimed.

"What is it then?" Azumaryu asked. "Something to do with hugs and kisses? What do those gestures make you feel, exactly?"

"Pleasure," Shikamaru muttered. "Naruto, sit down."

Naruto looked at Shikamaru. "You're just going to let them degrade us?! Accuse us of senseless-"

"They are highly rational beings acting on philosophy and logic," Shikamaru said. "And you are acting on your emotions. We're not here to dissect each other's nature. We are here to learn how we can save Konoha."

Naruto frowned. "Tell **them** that."

"Oh we heard it," Nishiryu said calmly.

Shikamaru looked at the elders and bowed. "My sincere apologies for our rudeness," he said.

"No worries," Azumaryu said. "We didn't think that highly of you anyway."

Naruto glared at Azumaryu.

"Naruto," Neji hissed.

Naruto closed his eyes and sat back down on his chair.

"Where were we?" Houren said, looking at the elders. "The exile? The barrier?"

"Both," Minamiryu said.

"We began to…**restrict** visitations to your world," Hokuryu said. "…Basically because our interactions with your world still give us more knowledge. The restriction meant keeping your kind away from our world. But one of us told a group of humans about the portals we use to cross to your world – wormholes that appear on their own at specific points in time. Excited to give the humans a tour of Seiiki, that immortal-"

"She?" Shikamaru said.

"**She** secretly welcomed them to Seiiki and kept them in the secret rooms of the temple," Hokuryu said. "While hiding in the secret rooms, they decided to look for the 'artifacts' that she told them about. They tricked her into showing them the artifacts and telling them how they could be taken out of the temple. They took the artifacts when she went out of the temple for her regular morning rounds, and went back to your world using one of the wormholes."

"And you punished her for their crime?!" Naruto exclaimed.

"We had warned her time and again about the cunningness of your species," Azumaryu said. "She chose not to listen."

"We've established the loss of the artifact," Shikamaru said. "…And how the relics are formed. I would like to know who we are dealing with now – the one who summoned the relics to our world."

"His name is Oda," Hokuryu said. "Odayakana."

"Tranquil," Shikamaru whispered. Their enemy didn't seem like the type who would go on a rampage, based on his name at least.

"I bet you'll be forbidding the use of his name too," Naruto muttered.

"Of course," Azumaryu said. "…After he receives his sentence."

Naruto scoffed.

"Shut up, baka," Kiba hissed, nudging Naruto.

"Odayakana was our messenger," Hokuryu said. "When he came back from delivering notices to the farthest regions, she had already received her sentence. We sent him away to inform everyone in the region, of her fate and of the new rule that no one will be allowed to cross the borders to your world. When Oda came back, he stole the only relic we kept in the temple and crossed your world."

"Why do you think he did that?" Shikamaru asked. "And we're talking about someone different from the one who you sentenced a century ago."

"Yes," Hokuryu said. "Oda however seems to be planning on doing the same act the traitor we sentenced a century ago did. Why so, I cannot tell you."

Shikamaru sighed. He already had an idea why. He would just need to confirm it. "And now he's gathered supporters for his cause."

Hokuryu looked at Sasuke.

"Yes," Sasuke answered. "I've confirmed the presence of five rogue ninjas in his group – each one of them keeping and sustaining a relic. They've set up a temporary underground hideout near Oto."

"What?!" Kiba exclaimed. "We're basically dealing with Oto ninjas again?"

"No," Sasuke answered. "They don't have Oto ninjas in their group – at least not yet." He looked up at the elders. "They've gathered notorious ninja criminals as members of their group. The most prominent of them are given the title 'general.' Several towns across the fire country have established underground slave trading. They're selling human slaves to the group as sustainance for the relics."

Naruto, Kiba, Chouji, and Neji froze. Shino and Shikamaru looked grimly at Sasuke.

Slaves… those missing women and children..? Those missing ninjas..?

"I've sent a friend in Konoha to check it out," Sasuke said. "The Hokage should already be informed of the matter by now."

Shikamaru nodded. He meant Jirotaiku.

"Good," Hokuryu said, nodding. "All we need to do is strategize what to do. I'm assuming you, Nara Shikamaru, are the strategist in your village."

"One of the many, yes," Shikamaru answered, looking at Hokuryu.

"Let us then see what we can do to stop Oda and his group."

* * *

Sasuke watched Sakura run a comb through her long hair while she sat in front of her vanity mirror. She had been doing it every night before she slept, since she fully adjusted to living in the temple.

Sasuke took a deep breath of the cool evening air from the fourth floor balcony of the temple's inner building, and sighed as he noticed the anxiety in Sakura's green eyes. Despite the distance, he could still see the tension on her shoulders as she gazed at her reflection, even when he was just watching her through their bedroom window.

The last time he saw that tension on her was when she first met him in the temple.

"We had to hide her memories away," Houren's voice rang in his ears - the memory of staring confused at him after realizing Sakura no longer knew him, filling his thoughts.

He had been wanting nothing but freedom from Sakura's attention and affections since he was young, or so he thought. Then she died in his arms, and to his surprise, he sought for a way to revive her. He sawher again and learned she no longer wanted him. He was finally free from Sakura's affections and yet, instead of celebrating, he ended up grieving.

The pain surging through his chest was... indescribable …The experience – unutterable.

For the third time in his life, he felt his heart crumble. First on the murder of his family, second the loss of his brother, and third for losing Sakura.

When everything sunk in, he found himself lost – clueless on what he should do next. Sure, he thought about just doing what he and Houren had previously agreed on, but he wouldn't be doing it without seeing Sakura again.

And the sight of her pained him in so many levels and urged him to do so many things – one of which was make her remember who he was. And that was **not** a good idea. He had experience to prove it. So he wandered what he should do.

Then it hit him. He had always wanted nothing to do with Sakura. So why bother with how he should approach her?

So he decided to ignore her when he saw her in the halls of the temple, and not talk to her even when she asked him a question – things he had been doing since he met her in the academy.

Sasuke remembered her warm greetings, and shy smiles. He remembered how she tried to ask him how his stay in the temple was so far, and how he decided not to even spare her a glance.

Then one cold night…

"I'm sorry," she told him.

He was on his way back to his quarters when he saw her standing by the door to his room.

"I'm sorry I don't remember you."

And her cracked voice, her trembling shoulders, and the apologetic expression on her face shattered his resolve.

"I really want to remember you," Sakura said, her green eyes showing the weakness she was trying to mask. "I want to know you, and if you would only give me a chance-"

"Shut up," the two words that he knew would hurt her, and remarkably the two words he didn't want to say to her.

He remembered how taken aback Sakura was after that. For a moment, her green eyes glimmered in the faint moonlight.

Sasuke found the courage to walk around her and head to his door. He was about to open the door when Sakura reached her hand out to him.

"My name is Haruno Sakura," she said. "I don't know much about myself but I know that I like to help in the clinic and I want to be your friend."

Sasuke didn't know what to do again. He just stood frozen in front of his bedroom door.

After a moment or so, Sakura took her hand back with a sigh. "I'll see you around," she said, walking sadly away from him.

He remembered closing his eyes; feeling tears run down his cheeks… and feeling something crush his chest.

She remained friendly to him – greeting him whenever she saw him, inviting him to share dinner with her, and telling him some of her experiences in the temple.

He felt relieved when Houren and the elders finally gave him orders to retrieve the artifacts. He was rarely in Seiiki after that. It was like being on missions for Konoha. The only difference was he didn't really receive any monetary compensation for his work. He did receive allowances when he was out to retrieve the artifacts though.

Sakura remained warm toward him even then. She looked especially happy to see him when he returned to Seiiki.

One time, he came back severely wounded. He underestimated an enemy holding the artifact he was supposed to retrieve, and ended up getting a number of deep stab wounds, several broken ribs, a broken ankle and a dislocated arm bone. He fell unconscious the moment Fuyuki saw him on the roadside.

Sakura was always the first one to welcome him. She turned out to be keeping an eye on the entrance to the temple while she worked in the clinic. So when a group of villagers reached the temple carrying a bloody and unconscious Sasuke in their arms, she was the first to rush to the scene.

He remembered faintly opening his eyes to the bright light, hearing muffled noises around him and seeing a blurry image of Sakura's anxious face hovering over him.

"She was worried sick about you," Houren said when he saw Sasuke looking confused at the pink-haired woman slumped unconscious on his bedside. "She hadn't slept since you arrived."

"You should have stopped her."

Houren just smiled. "You know how stubborn she can be, especially when it concerns the one she loves."

"Stop it! She doesn't know me!"

"That doesn't mean she doesn't love you," Houren said. "Why do you think she's been acting like this toward you? This isn't just guilt and you know it."

Of course Sasuke had a hint on what was going on, but he didn't want to entertain the idea because one, remembering him might trigger her suicidal tendencies; and two, she was already free of the burden of loving him. Why take her back into that prison cell when she could fall for a man more suitable for her than Sasuke?

"This isn't right!"

"What if it is?" Houren asked. "You're not the only one who's wondering why she still likes you, despite the fact that she knows nothing about who you are and the fact that you've practically showed nothing but rudeness toward her. I've heard about humans and the power of the feeling called 'love.' I don't know that much about you mortals but that's the only explanation I can find."

"So what..?"

"So," Houren said. "I suggest you think about what you're doing. That last artifact you've risked your life to save contains further knowledge on memory. We've yielded the technique of forming a barrier in the mind. With your permission, we can set up a barrier separating her memories before she arrived in the temple, from her memories after she woke up in our care."

Sasuke didn't know what he felt upon hearing the news. At first he felt his heart skip – hopel. Then the consequences sunk in and fear, disappointment, guilt, and confusion filled his thoughts.

"There are two ways of looking at this," Hokuryu told him one evening when he visited Sasuke's quarters. "One is how it could be beneficial for our goal of reorienting Sakura back to her human life. If we establish you as a valuable and loyal member of her social circle now, there's a greater chance that once the barrier is diminished, she would doubt the traumatic false memory she has about you and thus prevent her from automatically killing herself."

Sasuke could only nod. He had decided then that creating a barrier in Sakura's mind was a good idea. Then he would have to find a way of being friends with her, without letting himself be too absorbed by his emotions. "What's the second way of looking at this?"

"The second is how it would be beneficial for both of you," Hokuryu answered. "We elders may be, as Houren calls us, 'ancient' but we are not blind. You both yearn for each other and this distance you're keeping is neither helping her, nor healing you. When you excitedly pranced up the steps to the temple that day, full of hope and anticipation, it was clear that you've decided to make it up to Sakura. The smile on your face was a clear sign that you were finally letting yourself live."

Sasuke sighed. "She doesn't know me."

"Her feelings for you didn't change though, did it?" Hokuryu said. "The best help and support a patient with amnesia can receive is the presence of his or her family – a reassurance that they belong in something. Sakura, though you may not notice, is afraid. Sure, we care and love her like family. But she does not know us and we've honestly told her that we do not know her that well. We are not her family, though we are more than willing to be one for her. When you looked at her like you knew all her life, she realized she wasn't alone in the world. She started to believe that somewhere in this existence she belonged to a family, to a group of friends, to someone's life – to yours."

Sasuke remembered the look on Sakura's face when he first called her name in the temple. And though there was confusion in her face, he remembered seeing a spark of excitement in her eyes.

"She doesn't understand how bad you could be to her," Hokuryu said. "Not when your existence meant so many beautiful things for her. She's not asking you to love her back. Nor am I asking you that. For goodness' sake, I'm an elder. **You** should be asking **me** favors. I'm just telling you what's going on and how you're being too… idiotic about everything. After all, dying for someone you love isn't the only way to express your love for them."

Those words were running through Sasuke's head when he introduced himself to Sakura one morning while she was checking his wounds. The elders had already created the barrier in her mind at that time.

Sakura froze for a moment, surprised and confused when she heard him say his name.

"I'm a Konoha ninja," Sasuke calmly went on, his eyes on Sakura's face. "I'm the last surviving member of the Uchiha clan – a family famous for the eye technique, Sharingan. I was in a genin team with Hatake Kakashi, Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura when I was younger. I went rogue to be stronger, and lived away from them for years. I murdered a lot of people, almost caused the destruction of Konoha, and I attempted to kill you several times."

Sasuke remembered the silence that crossed between them. He knew his introduction was wrong, but she had to know how awful he was to her. And perhaps that knowledge would make her see why she shouldn't bother to be friends with him.

But Sakura smiled at him. "You seemed very relieved to see me alive though," she said.

Sasuke knew she was referring to the first time he saw her in the temple. He couldn't help but look away. She was Sakura – stubborn and weak. She didn't care about the horrible things he did to her.

"So Konoha," Sakura said. "That's where we live?"

Sasuke looked up at her and saw nothing but curiosity in her eyes. "Yes," he said. "It's a hidden ninja village."

"I'm a ninja too?"

Sasuke allowed himself to smile. "…The most beautiful and the best medic ninja in the village."

He watched her cheeks blush. "Most… beautiful?"

"You had a lot of suitors."

Sakura shyly looked down at his hands. "You weren't one of them though, were you?" she sadly asked.

"I didn't want to."

Sakura nodded, smiling to hide the hurt she felt.

Things got better after that. For the first time in a long time, Sasuke found himself being friends with Sakura. They listened to each other's stories, though since Sakura was still more talkative than him, he ended up listening to her more. And he learned he actually liked listening to her. He told her some things about Konoha – what it looked like, what the academy was like, and how she was before. He left out the part where she was crazy infatuated with him though.

Even with the advanced medical techniques, it took him several weeks before he was allowed to start walking. He had a feeling it was part of Houren and the elders' matchmaking plans, but he learned to ignore it when Sakura eagerly took charge of his physical therapy. At least he knew who was treating him.

He did several artifact-retrieval missions after that. And each time he arrived in the temple, Sakura took it upon herself to check him for wounds or injuries. They had been closer than they were when he first arrived, and many of the villagers who knew them, openly rooted for their relationship to flourish.

One afternoon, while Sakura was patching up a gash on Sasuke's arm and telling him about Keiko's quarrel with a village boy the girl seemed to like, Sasuke threw all caution to the wind and let his lips touch Sakura's. He didn't know what he would do after that – when he was sure Sakura would end up either too stunned or too offended to move. But to his surprise, Sakura just kissed him back.

Sasuke smirked. They were both flushed and breathless when Keiko ran into the room - about to tell them about how the boy she admired didn't understand what she ordered him to do. He remembered how Keiko froze at the door and quickly said "Bye!" before she ran out to the hall.

None of them told each other they were officially together, but everyone in Seiiki congratulated Sasuke and Sakura for the new intimate bond they shared. He knew being in such relationship with her was like taking advantage of her, but he could no longer bring himself to leave her – not when she happily held him in her arms.

Sasuke watched Sakura sigh as she looked at her reflection on the vanity mirror. She looked down at the picture frame on the table – a photograph of the two of them taken one evening while celebrating one of Seiiki's festivals. He watched her smile and run her fingertips on the portrait.

"And now you're stalking her," he head Kiba say. He had sensed a group of chakra signatures coming his way, but chose to ignore it.

"I thought you're with her already," Kiba continued.

Naruto stood beside Sasuke, watching Sakura with him.

"So," Neji said, standing against the rails of the balcony. "She loses her memory and you two end up together."

"Does she at least know who you are?" Kiba said. "What you've done?"

"Some of them," Sasuke answered.

"You're taking advantage of her!" Kiba exclaimed.

"I'm not stupid," Sasuke muttered.

"Really?" Kiba asked, walking closer to Sasuke. "…Because you having this relationship with Sakura doesn't seem like you're not!"

"Kiba," Shikamaru called.

"Come on, Shikamaru!" Kiba cried. "You **know **this is wrong! Naruto, you too! You **all** know this is wrong! They erased her memory! Then Uchiha comes here and tells her he's her boyfriend?!"

Sasuke said, looking at Kiba. "That's not what happened."

"What happened then?" Neji asked.

"You don't understand," Sasuke said, before turning away, frustrated. "You **won't** understand."

Naruto looked at Sasuke. It was as if his best friend was reliving a horrible memory.

"Make us understand," Chouji said. "What happened? Why did you let them take her memory away? I mean, Sakura's a strong ninja. And with you around-"

"She almost died," Sasuke said, looking grimly away. "They brought her memories back a week after I arrived, just to see if my presence would make a difference. It did."

Shikamaru sighed and looked up at the night sky. He knew, by the tone of Sasuke's voice, what might have happened.

"She talked to me," Sasuke said. "She assured me that everything was going to be alright – that she was going to make sure she would die the next time she attempted suicide."

Chouji, Kiba and Neji froze. Shino looked away.

"She was smiling at me," Sasuke said. "She was holding my hand and telling me I wouldn't get killed by anyone…that she'll break the constraints she put on my chakra."

Naruto looked out at the window where Sasuke kept his watch on Sakura. Sakura was smiling and looking around. It was as if she was waiting for someone.

Thinking about her telling Sasuke that she would take her own life for him just seemed so… impossible.

"I froze," Sasuke continued. "I didn't know what to do. I told her I didn't want her to kill herself. But she just smiled at me and said she understood…That I don't have to feel guilty and pretend. I held her arms to keep her from jumping out of the window, but she threw me across the room. When I got up from the floor, she was about to pin her head under a slab of concrete wall."

Chouji, Kiba and Neji looked away from Sasuke.

He could still see it - the massive hole on the wall when he sat up from the floor... the massive stone debris around him... the slab of concrete Sakura hurled to the ceiling... how she closed her eyes and waited for the slab to crush her...

"The only way we could save her was to sedate her," Sasuke said. "And lock her memories of Konoha and me away. The elders retained her memories of being here in the temple though so she wouldn't have to reorient herself again."

"How did you two end up together?" Kiba asked.

"That immortal whose body was turned into relics," Shikamaru said before Sasuke could answer Kiba. "It's Houren's sister?"

Neji and Shino looked at Sasuke. Kiba, Chouji and Naruto looked confused at Shikamaru.

"Yes," Sasuke answered, looking at Shikamaru. "Her name is Shirayuri."


	8. Chapter 8

_Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing "Reconnaisance." I had been, again, too occupied to upload the next chapter for this story last week so here's last week and this week's chapter. _

_I'm seriously considering a once every two weeks update schedule since, well, I've been doing a lot of that lately, haven't I? So yeah...You can expect the next chapter for this story two weeks from now... If I don't update it next week. _* v *

* * *

"White lily," Shikamaru said. "Houren's name has something to do with lotus."

"What's with being named after plants?" Chouji asked. "And directions!"

"Houren and Shirayuri's father is one of the seven ryuujin," Sasuke said, ignoring Chouji's remark. "The Ryuujin govern this land. Houren and Shirayuri's father was the emperor of the northern country. Seiiki is the country's capital – the home of the sovereign."

"Wait, so you're saying Houren is an emperor?" Kiba asked.

"He's the heir to the throne," Sasuke answered. "Yes."

"The ryuujin," Shikamaru said. "What's their role or position in this?"

"The ryuujin passed on millenniums ago, after one of them almost destroyed the two dimensions in an attempt to fuse them," Sasuke said.

Neji looked grimly at Sasuke. "The 'traitor' the elders called was a ryuujin?"

"Yes," Sasuke replied. "His country was dissolved after his sentence was passed. The land was distributed to the nearby ryuujin territories and its people were adopted by other countries. The ryuujin's kin was adopted by Houren's father."

"Let me get this straight first," Kiba said. "So Houren's royalty, and he's supposed to rule everything here, or at least a whole country. What do those ancient lizards do here then?"

"They oversee everything," Sasuke answered. "They had been overseeing things since the ryuujin came to power – assisting them in governance, implementing decrees and enforcing laws."

"And they stay in Seiiki a lot?" Chouji asked.

"They have temples for the elders in every country," Sasuke said. "When the sovereign was established, the ryuujin wanted the elders to rule over everything. But they declined and opted to merely assist whoever would be chosen to rule the land. The ryuujin, members and leaders of their respective prominent clans decided to choose one of them as the sole leader. They chose Houren's father, but he also declined and instead, he proposed that they keep the seven countries under the guidance of the four elders. Houren's father was said to be the wisest, the wittiest and the silliest of the ryuujin. He was so childish, the elders almost always kept their eyes on him like he was their own child. That's why they stayed in Seiiki a lot - because of all the ryuujin, he needed the most guidance."

"He sounds a lot like Houren then," Kiba said, smirking.

Sasuke sighed. "Yes," he said. "He looks and acts like Houren."

"Eh? You met him? I thought he moved on millenniums ago," Chouji said.

"He did," Sasuke said. "I had to undergo a crash course on the history of this place and… It's complicated."

Kiba frowned and glared at Sasuke. "We're not stupid, Uchiha," he said. "Just spit it out!"

"The technique used by that 'exemplary' ryuujin," Shikamaru said, redirecting the conversation.

"The elders locked the knowledge about the technique in an artifact," Sasuke said.

"Oda had access to it thru Shirayuri," Shikamaru said.

"That, and the fact that Oda was the sentenced ryuujin's son," Sasuke said.

"Whoa!" Kiba exclaimed. "So this is all some sort of Uchiha-style vengeance?"

"No," Neji said. "This isn't about clan honor."

"Oh yeah, and he's probably not walking around like a bloodthirsty lunatic," Kiba said, nodding.

Sasuke raised a brow at Kiba. Chouji elbowed Kiba. Shikamaru sighed.

"So he knows about the technique," Naruto said.

Sasuke looked at Naruto. "He had a theory on how it was done," he said. "And the elders believe Oda accessed the artifacts to confirm it."

"Wait, so the elders knew Oda might do that - learn how his father did?" Chouji asked. "And they didn't do anything to stop him?"

"They made him a messenger," Sasuke answered. "They made sure he didn't have enough time to hang around in libraries."

"That didn't exactly stop him though, did it?" Kiba muttered.

"So if Oda isn't doing this to restore the honor of his father," Chouji said. "Why is he trying to annihilate Konoha? Or why is he planning to destroy our world?"

Shikamaru glanced at Sasuke. "He's with Shirayuri?"

"He's in love with her," Sasuke answered looking away. "Shirayuri was in love with a human."

Neji, Kiba and Chouji froze.

"Romance," Shino muttered, sighing and looking away.

"The artifact thief," Neji said.

"Yes," Sasuke said. "In his defense, he wanted to be immortal like Shirayuri so they could stay together. But when he and his friend saw the stack of artifacts, it changed. They desired godhood – prominence, wealth and power."

Kiba sighed, scratching his head. "What happened to the guy?"

"He was forced to watch the execution of Shirayuri's sentence," Sasuke said. "He was then sent back to our world."

"That's all the elders did to him?!" Kiba exclaimed. "He put our world in danger and they just pat him on the wrist?!"

"The assumption was that he really loved her," Sasuke said. "That watching her meet her death was a far worse punishment than a jail time or a death sentence."

"And had it been a fitting punishment?" Shikamaru asked.

Sasuke sighed. "In our world, the most advisable thing a human does when losing a love one is move on," he said. "He moved on and got married a year after he watched Shirayuri die."

"Oda learned about this." Shikamaru asked, looking grimly at Sasuke.

"He visited him," Sasuke said.

"And Oda hadn't moved on from Shirayuri's death, huh?" Kiba asked.

Sasuke turned to look at Sakura again. She was sighing and walking away from the vanity mirror.

"I spoke to Shirayuri's human," he said, never intending to speak the name of the cause of the chaos. "He told me he loved her, but that he loved his wife more. He said he still felt guilty about what happened but it all seemed more like a dream to him so he decided not to wallow in it."

"That's just insulting for Shirayuri's memory," Chouji muttered, frowning.

"And one year?" Kiba asked. "I haven't seen someone I care about die in front of me, not that I want to, but I'm sure as hell one year won't be enough for me to move on!"

"Oda didn't like it," Neji said.

"That's why he's planning to destroy our world?" Shino asked. "Why didn't he just kill the guy when he met him?"

Sasuke looked down at his feet. "Living after watching someone you love perish," he quietly said. "…Or living knowing your love ones won't be at arm's length anymore..."

Shikamaru looked away. Naruto, Neji, Kiba and Chouji looked surprised at Sasuke.

"He's not just planning to destroy our world, is he?" Shikamaru asked.

"He wants to destroy humans to keep anyone like them to end up like Shirayuri,"  
Sasuke answered. "He wants to save Shirayuri's human, take him here and make him watch mankind's extinction to punish him for what he did. Houren and I believe he's planning on turning the relics back to their original form."

"Whoa! Wait!" Naruto said. "You mean he wants to bring Shirayuri back? That's possible?"

"Only the elders know how to do it," Sasuke answered. "Shirayuri had received elderhood before she received her sentence. Houren and I believe she's already acquired the knowledge of reviving an immortal before she was punished, and that Oda will be able to extract it from her physical memory once her body is restored."

"I'm starting to get lost in the time frame here," Shikamaru said. "Were you able to meet Oda and Shirayuri?"

"I've spoken to Oda before, yes," Sasuke said. "The last artifact I retrieved had kept knowledge about the relics. It's keeper had found a relic, and Oda was on his tail when I retrieved the artifact. Oda disappeared with the temple's relic centuries ago – before Houren met his wife. There had been several disturbances in the neighboring countries here since then that everyone presumed Oda was still in this world."

"It took him that long to actualize his plan?" Neji asked.

"We don't have an accurate timeline in hand, but Oda seemed to have been looking for ways on how to revive Shirayuri's body for years," Sasuke said. "He had been looting archives and temples here in search of methods and spell ingredients, not to mention forming a group of faithful followers. We're not sure when he was able to summon the relics through the other world, but transporting one relic through a dimension should keep him bedridden for a year."

"Why were the women here exiled?" Kiba asked.

Chouji and Neji raised a brow at Kiba.

"You mean the female immortals similar to Houren's kind," Sasuke said.

"Yeah. Where are they?"

"Female immortals here are wisdom keepers," Sasuke explained. "They chronicle history, record techniques, develop various ways of using chakra, and manage healing facilities. After Shirayuri's sentence was passed and Oda disappeared, decrees aiming to protect them were passed. They were forbidden to cross dimensions. And later, as various archives were assaulted, they decided to put the women in exile – keeping their existence separate from their essence."

"Isn't that… degrading?"Naruto asked. "It's like they're so weak and helpless!"

"They don't think that way," Sasuke said.

Shikamaru took a deep breath and sighed. "This is messier than I thought," he said.

"Speaking of what you thought," Kiba said, glancing at Shikamaru. "How about you fill us in on what **you** know, Nara?"

Sasuke leaned away from the wall and sighed. "Seeing as this conversation would be directed to Nara, I'm taking this as my time to leave," he said, before he walked back into the room.

"You still have a part in this conversation," Shikamaru said. "How long have you been in contact with your teacher, Kakashi?"

Naruto stared shocked at Sasuke. Kiba, Chouji and Neji raised their brows.

Sasuke stopped walking. "Not that long," he said. "I've been more in contact with Jirotaiku than with Kakashi, basically because it was easier to communicate with Jiro."

"Y-You... You've been in contact with them all along?!" Naruto exclaimed, stunned...hurt... and confused.

"The elders didn't want any outside help," Sasuke explained. "That meant not talking to people outside this world. The only way I could communicate with Kakashi and Jirotaiku was thru codes - sending things to them that would look extremely out of the place like Sakura petals when they were on a mission in a snowy place."

Shikamaru nodded.

"Kakashi didn't know how to read a lot of them, unlike Jirotaiku did," Sasuke said. "So I sent more messages to Jirotaiku."

"Because Houren's been traning him," Neji said.

"Yes," Sasuke replied. "He was the one Houren trained to do the job I'm doing for them."

"You're a replacement then," Kiba said, smirking.

"A far better one," Sasuke said.

"STILL!" Naruto exclaimed. "You didn't even try to talk to ME!"

Sasuke sighed. "I did - I sent you a petal. It fell on your ramen bowl and you just glugged it."

Naruto stiffened.

Kiba and Chouji snickered. Naruto glared at them. "I WAS PROBABLY HUNGRY!" he defended, cheeks flushed.

"So when you made a ghostly apparition in that group of ANBU," Shikamaru said.

"Jirotaiku couldn't just tell Ibiki about my messages," Sasuke said. "He would sound... stupid and insane... not that he isn't already one. And I had to make sure every ninja village received the hint. So when the elders gave me permission to let Konoha ninjas see me, I made the event interesting one."

"Interesting enough to become a rumour," Shikamaru said, nodding. "You're lucky they didn't suppress the story that much."

"The Hokage summoned Jirotaiku immediately for an explanation," he said. "Would that be all? I need to go somewhere."

"Yeah," Shikamaru said, nodding. "I guess it's my turn to be under the limelight."

Kiba, Chouji, Shino and Neji glanced at Shikamaru.

Shikamaru sighed and rolled his eyes. "Troublesome," he muttered.

"I'll see all of you tomorrow morning then," Sasuke said, walking to the door.

Kiba, Chouji, Shikamaru, Neji and Shino watched him leave, knowing he was intending to meet Sakura again.

"Wait!" Naruto said, running to the balcony entrance. "We'll meet both of you at breakfast right? You and Sakura-chan?"

Sasuke stopped walking. "Yes," he answered. "You'll meet both of us at breakfast tomorrow."

Naruto smiled – relief flooding his face.

Kiba and Chouji glanced at each other. Shikamaru, Neji and Shino looked away.

"Say 'good night' to Sakura-chan for me," he said.

* * *

Sakura sighed and curled under the covers. It was the first night in weeks that she was going to sleep in the bedroom again. She had been sleeping in the clinic every night, where she chose to spend the night in whenever Sasuke was away. Sasuke was back and yet there she was – alone and still wondering how he was.

Sakura kept her eyes open, staring at the wall across from her - her sight adjusting to the darkness. She could see the blonde ninja's smiling face flashing in her thoughts.

She still couldn't shake the feeling of fear and anxiety away. Sasuke trusted them all so much, and his trust in them should be enough for her to trust them too. But she just couldn't feel safe around them… feel safe for Sasuke while knowing they were just a few steps away from him.

Sakura shut her eyes. There was nothing to worry about. They were allies – friends even.

Houren said they had to keep some of her memories away because they were tainted with false truths that mess up her view of things. They tried to give her memories back at one point. She didn't remember when and how it happened. But when she woke up one morning and Sasuke couldn't look at her anymore, she knew it happened and Houren and the elders had been telling her the truth.

She hurt him. She knew she did. Everytime his eyes glanced at her, there was a hint of pain in them. It would vanish as soon as it appeared. But it was there, and she would always see it there.

Sakura sighed. She just wanted to make it up to him – show him she would give her life to him. Being away from him, even just for several weeks, made her feel like she was losing him for good.

Whenever he said goodbye to her, she couldn't help but see an image of her being left in a cold bench – alone and brokenhearted. She hadn't told anyone else about it, thinking it was her imagination running wild.

It was like with that blonde one and his friends. Her imagination conjured an image of them hurting Sasuke.

Sakura winced and shook her head. They were friends. She was imagining things.

She felt the empty space beside her sink, a warm arm slink around her waist, heat touch her crouched back and lips caress the side of her forehead.

Sakura sighed in relief, feeling Sasuke's chakra close to her.

"Sorry," Sasuke whispered. "I had a meeting."

Sakura smiled and nodded. She then turned around and buried her head against his chest – her arms locking him in a tight embrace.

Sasuke held her close in return, kissing her forehead and rubbing her sides. "You're troubled."

Sakura opened her eyes and sighed. "I'll be fine."

"Hn," Sasuke muttered, gently holding her cheek in his hand. "It's not your fault."

Sakura looked up at him.

It was dark but she could sense the concern in Sasuke's face.

She smiled. "How many girls did you sleep with while you were away this time?"

Sasuke raised a brow at her for a moment. "A few," Sasuke answered, burying his face in the crook of her neck.

Sakura gasped and sat up. "You had girls with you?!"

Sasuke smirked. "I was lonely."

"**I was lonely too!**" Sakura snapped. "And I didn't get any guy out there to comfort me!"

Sasuke chuckled and locked his lips with hers. "You really think I had the time to get in bed with a couple of girls?"

Sakura felt slightly relaxed at his statement, but she kept a frown on her face.

"I was on a reconnaissance and retrieval mission," Sasuke said, wrapping his arms around her waist. "I was sleeping on tree tops."

Sakura looked shyly away. Sasuke was playing around and she should've known better.

Sasuke kissed her cheek and pulled her back to the bed, holding her against his chest.

"You really didn't sleep with anyone?" Sakura whispered, listening to his heartbeat.

"I slept with one," Sasuke answered. "I believe it was before I left for the mission."

Sakura smirked and leaned away from him. She hovered over him, looking at his dark eyes. "I think I know that girl. She's very possessive, that one." She then leaned down and kissed his lips.

"Hn," Sasuke replied. "She's annoying."

Sakura slapped his chest, frowning.

Sasuke chuckled and pulled her back to his chest. He closed his eyes and breathed in the sweet scent of her hair.

He would always wonder how things had changed so drastically in his life – how he had let himself go after years of putting his vengeance first; how he decided to be the elders' slave; how he was there sleeping beside her every night he stayed in the temple…

And then he would wonder how long it would last.

Sasuke tightened his hold on Sakura and kissed her forehead like it was the last night he had with her.

When she remembers everything… When she survives the consequences… When they all go back to Konoha… Would everything in his life be the same? Would he still be able to hold her in his arms at night? Would she still talk to him like he was family?

"You're troubled too," Sakura whispered.

"I just missed you," Sasuke whispered back.

* * *

"You're saying cutting off their supply of human sacrifice should be our top priority?" Kakashi asked.

He went to the Hokage's office that morning to receive a new mission.

"For now, yes," Tsunade answered, sitting on her chair in deep thought. "We already have ANBU surrounding the enemy territory. I've coordinated with our allies and they themselves have stationed ninjas in the area. They'll be monitoring enemy activity – relaying information about transactions they make with people outside the village."

Kakashi nodded. "And I'll be picking people for my team," Kakashi said.

"You can't really pick just anyone," Tsunade said. She handed him a scroll. "This is the list of ninjas you can choose to be in your team. I've reserved them for this task."

Kakashi accepted the scroll and looked at the Hokage. "You really haven't told everyone about this."

"I've notified the elders, all the jounin, all the chunnin and the ANBU. But I didn't tell the genin and the other ninjas who shouldn't be in the battle," Tsunade answered. "No point in scaring them …yet. We need to remain economically stable."

Kakashi nodded and read the list.

"Are you still in touch with Uchiha?" Tsunade asked, looking up at the jounin.

"No," Kakashi answered. "I haven't received any word from him yet. I believe it's a good sign though."

Tsunade sighed and nodded. "I suppose you're right. He would most likely send word if things went wrong."

Kakashi handed the scroll back to Tsunade. "I believe those will do."

Tsunade looked at the marks Kakashi made on the list and nodded. "I'll summon them so you can start with the mission briefing."

* * *

"What the hell-" Naruto muttered as he turned into another hallway.

It was early morning. He woke up hearing nature's loud call. Kiba and the others were still sleeping when he sneaked out of the room.

He couldn't blame them for not waking up early. The bed was cozy enough to make him sleep for a day. Nature just had to be a pain for him that morning though.

So there he was, walking in circles in search for a door or anyone who could lead him to a loo. He thought it would be just a couple of steps away from their room, but after passing through several halls that happened to look exactly alike, he realized he couldn't even find his way back to their room.

Naruto cursed and curled on the floor, trembling and trying hard not to stain the floor.

"What are you doing?" he heard a girl's voice echo behind him.

Naruto jumped and stared shocked at the little girl suddenly standing behind him. He didn't feel any chakra approaching him. And he still couldn't sense a chakra signature from the girl.

Was she...a ghost..?

"W-Wha-"

"You shouldn't be here," the girl said - her round chocolate eyes looking at him as if he was far younger than her. "Don't tell me you're looking for a bathroom."

Naruto frowned. "D-Do you know where I can find one?" he asked - cheeks flushed.

The girl rolled her eyes and sighed. "Just how stupid are you?" she hissed. "It's inside your suite - the first door beside the closet. Did you even try to explore your room?"

Naruto froze and looked away.

No. He was too busy thinking about what Sasuke had been up to, and how Sakura didn't remember him anymore that he didn't even bother to check the room out.

"I bet you even have no clue on how to go back to your room now," the girl said.

Naruto glared at her. "I'm new here!"

The girl sighed and turned around. "Follow me," she said. "And make sure you don't make a mess on the floor! Sheesh... And I thought 'Hn' was a pain..."

"Hn..?" Naruto asked, following the girl as they walked into one of the hallways.

"Your friend," the girl said. "The 'Hn' man."

Naruto stared confused at the girl. He frowned and tried to think about a friend of his who could be considered a 'Hn' man. Well, the only other time he had heard the word 'Hn' was when Sasuke-

"Oh! You mean Teme!" Naruto said, smiling at the girl.

"Eh?" the girl said, turning to look rudley at Naruto. "Are you refering to me?"

"No, no," Naruto said, chuckling. "That's what I call Sasuke - teme."

"Oh," the girl said, raising her brows. "You have a pet name for him?" She turned away. "I guess he really **is** gay. Poor Oneesan..."

"Eh? What are you talking about?" Naruto asked, frowning at the girl.

"Nothing," she said. "You're a little thick so you must be Naruto. Am I right?"

"Y-yeah," Naruto said, slightly taken aback. "You...know me? Sasuke told you things about me?"

The girl smiled at Naruto. "You can say that," she said.

In truth however, she forced Sasuke into telling her who the guests were going to be. It was sunny day, a couple of weeks ago, when Sasuke received the permission to take some of his Konoha ninja friends to the temple. And as the person in charge of managing the temple, she asked for a detailed description of the guests.

Well...she wasn't exactly the one in charge of the temple but she had a right to know who the newbies were going to be. They would need to give them a pleasureable stay, after all. And that meant persnalized food and service!

Okay, not really. She just wanted to know who Sasuke could be friends with, aside from Sakura. He was cold, mute, and he spoke "Hn"- language. To hear about him having people who actually understand him was a surprise.

She just had to know what they were like. So while Sasuke was telling the temple attendants about the number of beds they needed to prepare, she asked him - ordered him - to tell her more about the guests.

Nara Shikamaru had a brown pineapple on his head; Inuzuka Kiba smelled like the giant white dog he always walked with - Akamaru; Akimichi Chouji was fat but she her father said she shouldn't say it to his face because it was rude; Aburame Shino had sunglasses and liked bugs so they can't serve grasshopper fritters and such; Hyuuga Neji had white eyes and a lengthy hair so they had to make sure they had enough shampoo in the bathroom; and then there's the guy who **loved** ramen.

"Naruto?" she remembered asking Sasuke. "Describe Naruto."

"Idiot," Sasuke answered, frowning at her.

"Did he say good things about me?" Naruto asked, excited and ecstatic about the idea of Sasuke feeling proud enough about Naruto to tell people about him.

"Y-Yeah," the girl said. "A little. This is your stop," she said, standing in front of a door.

Naruto looked at the door.

"Remember - first door beside the closet," the girl said. "You won't miss it. I'll get all of you later for breakfast."She then turned to leave.

"Uh... Thanks!" Naruto said, smiling at her. "Hey! You haven't told me your name!"

"I'm Keiko," the girl said. "Now go relieve yourself! If you stain the floor, you won't get any ramen for dinner!"

Naruto quickly rushed into the room yelling, "Yes, ma'am!"

Keiko smiled. Perhaps opposites really attract.

"Keiko," she heard a familiar voice call from the end of the hall. She turned to look at him.

"Who are you looking for?" Keiko asked. Sasuke, after all, never called her by her name unless he needed to ask her a favor. And it usually involved locating people in the temple.

Sasuke stopped walking and waited for Keiko to walk closer toward him.

"You're up early," she muttered. "Does Oneesan know you're here?"

"Is Hokuryu around?" Sasuke asked.

"Ojii-san is always around," Keiko said. "But since you don't look like you're in the mood for my bickering, he's in the garden."

Sasuke nodded and walked away.

"Wait!" Keiko called.

Sasuke stopped walking.

"Are you going to try it again?" Keiko asked.

Sasuke sighed. "I'll see you at breakfast." He then continued his walk to the nearest hall.

Keiko sighed.

Sure Sasuke looked so tough and annoying she liked to tease the hell out of him. But... He also **always** looked hurt.

And that day they... That day... He looked like he wanted to die. And she didn't like it.

"Naruto won't like it either," she muttered. "I bet he won't."

* * *

"You called," Sasuke said as he walked into Hokuryu's white garden.

Each elder kept a garden, situated in their respactive directions and embodying their personalities.

Hokuryu's garden was filled with white-blossomed trees and shrubs - Snowy Mespilus, White Dogwood, Cherry, Snowmounds, and white hydrangea. Its white blooms and petals softly rain down on the black and white stones on the ground.

The gardens breathed in tune with the elders' mood. And at that moment, Sasuke could feel the slight hint of anxiety in the breeze.

"How is she?" Hokuryu asked, looking up at the white blossoms of one of his cherry trees. He was on his feet - poised as an elegant marble statue embodying tranquility.

"She's better," Sasuke answered. "She's willing to see them today."

Hokuryu nodded. "It's scary, isn't it?"

Sasuke nodded.

"But you still think it should be done?" Hokuryu asked.

"She has every right to get her memories back," Sasuke said. "Whether she likes it or not."

"Even if it kills you later?" Hokuryu asked.

Sasuke closed his eyes. "Yes." And it most likely **will** kill him. Maybe he'll go back to being a rogue later, if things don't change - which was again, most likely to happen.

"We've been thinking," Hokuryu said. "This is trial and error of course."

Sasuke looked up at Hokuryu, braising himself for the worst.

"Since your friends are here this time," Hokuryu said. "We'll put the barrier down."

Sasuke tried hard not to wince. He nodded. "I understand."

Hokuryu looked at him. "You approve of this?"

"Yes," Sasuke answered, looking calm and composed as he wanted to be.

Hokuryu watched him for a moment before he looked away again. "We'll do it today," he said. "Before you set out on your mission."

Sasuke nodded. "Shall I brief her about it?"

"Yes," Hokuryu said. "Do tell her about it."

Sasuke bowed and turned to leave. He had to drag his feet away from the garden.

Everything suddenly felt so unreal to him. Yet he knew he was there, on his way back to their room - remembering what Hokuryu told him.

He soon found himself opening the door to their bedroom... stepping inside the room... closing the door behind him...

"Hey," she whispered.

Sasuke turned to look at the bed and found her yawning - the blanket wrapped around her chest.

"Where did you go?" she asked.

Sasuke smiled and sat beside her, placing a kiss on her forehead.

Sakura sighed and buried her head against his chest - closing her eyes and listening to his heartbeat.

"You're going to tell me something?" she asked.

Sasuke closed his eyes and held her close.

How would he tell her the elders would give her memories back to her that day? How would he tell her she would see the horrible things he had done to her again? How would he assure her everything would be fine when, if they decide to put her back to her calm state, she would have severe injuries - broken bones, deep gashes, massive bruises... just like the last time?

How would she tell her everything was going to be better, when he knew in his heart it wouldn't be better for him?

"Am I going to lose you today?" she whispered, tense... frightened.

Sasuke smirked and kissed the top of her head. "You'll never lose me."


	9. Chapter 9

"This is the best reference we have on what our targets look like?" Ino snapped, frowning at the paper in her hand.

She was on her way to the gates of Konoha with Sai, Kakashi, Hinata and Lee. They were assigned to capture a group of village raiders who were believed to be trading people as sacrifices to a mysterious enemy threatening to destroy Konoha. Kakashi briefed them about the mission while on their way out of the village, with Hinata assuring them that no one else could overhear their discussion.

Lee looked at the paper in Ino's hand and saw a sketch of a hooded man with half of his face covered, showing only his sharp eyes.

"So he looks like that wherever he goes?" Lee asked.

"Exactly!" Ino said, glaring at Kakashi. "I mean what if he takes his hood and face cover off? How will we know it's him?!"

Kakashi slyly pointed to Sai. "Ask _him_."

"That was the description they gave me," Sai jadedly said.

"Maybe he always looks like that," Hinata said. "I'm sure ANBU will make sure they get the most accurate information about them."

"Let's hope that's the case," Ino said. "As much as I **hate** being blind about what's going on and doing this mysterious mission, I'll do my best to get this done and save all those people. So this portrait of yours, Sai, better help us catch that monster."

Sai just looked at her.

"Don't worry," Kakashi said, patting Sai's shoulder. "She's just longing to see someone."

Sai looked up at Kakashi. "Was I supposed to be offended by her statement?"

"Ah! Nara Shikamaru," Lee said, clearly ignoring Sai's question. He closed his eyes and nodded his head. "I can relate."

Ino and Hinata froze as tears streamed down Lee's cheeks – his face in an exaggerated expression of longing and misery.

"I too miss someone dearly," Lee said, looking up at the sky. "The spring of eternal youth… My beautiful cherry blossom…"

"When you said he was still crazy about Ugly," Sai said, watching Lee. "I didn't expect him to be this loony."

Kakashi coughed, concealing a chuckle.

"I hadn't seen Ugly do this for Sasuke," Sai muttered. "But she and Geji-mayuu here are feeling the same kind of emotion. Does this mean Ugly does this too? …Just in secret?"

Kakashi loudly cleared his throat. "I suggest we start moving," he said. "We have a village to save. If our intelligence report is correct, we have two days to catch up with the raiders."

"I agree," Hinata said. "I'll lead the way."

Ino sighed. "Right," she said. "Let's go."

"Indeed!" Lee said, raising his fist in the air. "The power of youth is within us!"

"Interesting," Sai muttered, studying Lee.

"Sai," Kakashi said, crossing his arms over his chest. "The best way to learn about emotions and how to express them is reading books, not studying people."

"But I read that the best teacher is experience."

"Exactly – you **read** it, therefore it is a reliable information," Kakashi said. "Besides, having one clone of Gai in this team is enough."

The moment they crossed the gate, the four ninjas sprinted to a swift run – leaping up to the branches and aiming to reach the nearest village by sunset.

After a moment of silence, Kakashi noticed Ino slow down her pace. She was leaping branches next to Kakashi without Hinata, Sai and Lee noticing she had moved behind them.

"You… Don't have news yet?" Ino mumbled.

Kakashi spared her a glance.

Anxiety and fear were clear in her blue eyes.

"Nope," he muttered back. "But they're fine. If something went terribly wrong, we'll know."

Ino nodded and tried to smile. "Both of them?"

Kakashi sighed. "Yes."

Ino took a deep breath and skipped back to her position, flanking Hinata.

Kakashi watched the members of his team leap from one branch to another. They just went through one hell of a ninja war, killing off a number of their friends and family.

There they were again, trying to stop another war from coming.

Just as his eyes rested on Ino's blonde hair, he noticed a pink petal fall softly from the sky. He quickly grabbed the petal, squeezing it tightly in his hand.

Images of Shikamaru, Naruto, Chouji, Kiba, Akamaru, Neji and Shino walking in beige kimonos flashed in his mind… Sakura's anxious and frightened face as she shook her head and said she didn't remember any of them… He heard a deep commanding voice saying, "Since your friends are here this time, we'll put the barrier down."

Kakashi took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

* * *

"Sasuke!"

Sasuke opened his eyes and quickly snapped his head toward where Naruto's voice echoed from. And sure enough, on the balcony was Naruto smiling at him and waving his hand. Shikamaru and the others were with him.

Sasuke looked down at the well in front of him, seeing nothing but his reflection on the water.

So Konoha and the other villages were on the move. At least something good was happening that day. All he would have to do then was hope that everything ended well for teams that the Kage deployed.

He looked up at the cherry tree shielding him from the glare of the morning sun. Its petals fell softly with the gentle breeze.

Should he send Jirotaiku a message too?

He raised his palm to catch one of the falling petals. The rest of the petals fell on the water – floating on his reflection.

Sasuke gazed at the petal in his hand for a moment before he let it fall down on the well. Unlike the other petals, the one he dropped sunk into the water and vanished into his reflection.

"So this is your morning ritual here?" Naruto asked, prancing a few steps behind him. The others had stayed in the balcony watching them.

Sasuke looked at Naruto's slippers. "This is sacred ground," he said, looking apathetically at him.

Naruto raised a brow at him. "Eh?" He looked down at his slippers, then at Sasuke's bare feet. "OH! Why didn't you say so?" Naruto took his slippers off and stepped his feet on the moist grass. "Wow! Talk about morning dew…" he muttered as he felt the cold water droplets creep into his skin.

He looked up and saw Sasuke turning around to look at the well again. He was standing on a round boulder.

Sasuke bowed to the well, turned away and gracefully stepped down from the boulder. "You're killing the grass," he muttered as he walked past Naruto – his feet stepping over the stone path leading back to the temple building.

"E-Eh?!" Naruto gasped, jumping to the nearest stone.

It was far colder than the grass. And the chill was making his feet numb.

"Wait!" he said, running after Sasuke.

"You shouldn't be here," Sasuke said as he reached the balcony. "You don't have permission to enter this garden."

Naruto stepped up the balcony and frowned at Sasuke. "Permission…? What kind of permission?"

"And if he **did** need permission," Kiba said, glaring at Sasuke. "How come nothing bad happened to him?"

"Wash your feet," Sasuke told Naruto, ignoring Kiba's question. "Keiko will kill you if she sees you staining the floor."

"Keiko? Oh! That kid walking around the temple," Naruto said. "Why would she kill me for staining the floor with water? It'll dry up anyway."

"That's not water," Sasuke said, glancing at Naruto's feet.

Naruto, Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba, Akamaru, Neji, and Shino looked confused at Sasuke. They then looked at Naruto's feet.

And sure enough, his feet left scarlet stains on the floor.

"WHAT THE HELL—!" Naruto said, jumping up and raising his right foot up to see the blood. It was then that he felt the burning sensation on his skin… the searing sensation of his feet being burned. "OUCH! OUCH!" he cried, jumping on one foot to another. "WHY DIDN'T YOU WARN ME, TEME?!"

"You didn't ask me to," Sasuke said.

"Oh, dear!"

Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba, Naruto, Neji and Shino stiffened. The voice came from someone behind them – someone they knew…

Sasuke looked up at the new addition to the group. "Sakura," he greeted.

Sakura nodded and rushed to Naruto's side. She knelt and examined his raised foot. "Please sit down," she said.

Naruto swallowed, surprised to hear Sakura sound so gentle and polite to him. "O—Okay," he said, sitting his behind on the wooden floor.

She took his foot and lightly brushed her fingers on the bloodstains.

A layer on the large patches of his skin was stripped off – or rather, melted off.

"Sasuke-kun," she said – her green eyes focused on the wound. "Can you get me some water?"

"I'm on it," he replied, walking away from the scene.

Sakura looked up at Naruto and smiled. "I'm sorry," she said. "He's like that sometimes, but he's not that bad once you—Oh!" Sakura shyly looked down at the wound. "I'm sorry. I forgot you—"

"It's okay," Naruto said, chuckling. "It's nice to be reminded that he didn't intend to get me wounded."

Sakura looked up at Naruto and smiled.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Shikamaru asked.

Sakura looked up at him – a friendly smile on her face. "Please look for Keiko and ask for a towel, a pale of water and a rug," she said. "We'll need to clean this up before she sees it. Just tell her I spilled some tea."

"Keiko," Chouji said. "What does she look like?"

"I think she's the girl we first saw in the temple!" Naruto said. "The one Sasuke called, 'Annoying.'"

Sakura chuckled. "That's her alright," she said. "He's the only one he calls 'annoying' here."

Kiba smirked. "Looks like Sasuke already replaced you, Naruto."

Naruto glared at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"We'll go now," Shikamaru said, pulling Kiba and Chouji by the collar. "…Before they talk about gay stuff." Neji and Shino followed them as they walked away.

Sakura sighed and sat down next to Naruto. "How painful is it?"

"It stings," Naruto said, wincing a little. "Well… It's burning. But it's nothing I can't handle."

Sakura nodded and looked down at the stains on the floor. "I'm sorry."

Naruto looked confused at Sakura.

"I should know you," she said, looking sadly at his wound. "But I… I don't. I really don't."

Naruto sighed and smirked. "It's not your fault, really," he said. "I should have asked Sasuke about what happened to you first before I hugged you and… you know," he continued, scratching his head.

Sakura looked up at him. She studied his blue eyes… Sought for anything that could tell her he was lying but… There was just nothing but innocence, honesty, and understanding in his eyes.

And it made her believe he won't do anything to hurt Sasuke.

"Here's the water," Sasuke said, walking toward them with a bowl of water. He knelt in front of Naruto, placing the bowl down on the floor.

"Do you have your kunai with you?" Sakura asked Sasuke.

Sasuke frowned, reached inside his sleeve and produced a kunai.

Naruto looked puzzled at the kunai. "W—What's that for?"

"She's going to cut your feet," Sasuke said. "It's the only way to appease the guards and save your life."

"WHAT?!" Naruto looked tearfully at Sakura. "Y—You're not going to do that, are you, Sakura-chan? Y-You're not going to impale me…"

Sakura glared at Sasuke. "Of course I won't do that to you, Uzumaki-san," she said.

"Naruto," Naruto corrected.

"Dobe," Sasuke muttered.

Naruto glared at Sasuke. "Shut up, Teme!"

Sakura stared at the two for a moment before she burst into chuckles. "Naruto then," she said. "I'll wash your wound first."

"You need a rug under that?" Shikamaru asked, approaching them with a bucket of water in his hand. Neji handed Sakura a rug. Kiba offered her a white towel.

Sakura smiled at them. "Thank you," she said, taking the rug.

Sasuke took the towel from Kiba and held it while Sakura placed the rug on the floor, under Naruto's bleeding feet.

The scarlet stain quickly spread on the rug.

Naruto winced as Sakura placed his feet on the rug – making sure the wounds didn't make contact with the cloth.

She then washed her bloodstained hands in the bowl of water. After that, she took the kunai Sasuke gave her and slashed her left palm in the middle, spilling blood on Naruto's wounds.

"WHAT THE—" Kiba gasped. Akamaru whimpered.

Chouji's jaw dropped. Neji, Shino and Shikamaru stiffened.

Naruto stared shocked at the blood on his wounds. "S-Sakura-chan... Y-You can just cut my feet off!"

Sakura chuckled. "Don't be silly!" she said. "Sasuke-kun was just fooling around."

Shikamaru, Neji, and Kiba's eyes went wide. Shino raised his brow. Chouji couldn't raise his jaw anymore.

They couldn't believe that the name "Sasuke," even when it had a "-kun," could be in a sentence with the phrase "fooling around."

Wisps of smoke rose from Naruto's bleeding feet.

"EH?! I-It's b-burning?" Naruto gasped.

"No," Sakura said, smiling at Naruto. "That's the specter guarding this garden. That's why the skin on your feet burned."

"Specter?" Kiba asked.

"That's what pushed us down on the floor when we met the elders, right?" Chouji asked Shikamaru.

"Specters are wisps of energy that gained life," Sakura began as she lightly rushed her bleeding hand on Naruto's foot. "They exist to serve the source of their existence. In this case, it's the elders – most specifically, Azumaryu. This garden is owned by Azumaryu-sama. Some of his specters guard this place from intruders. They burn whoever walks into the garden without permission. Luckily, you didn't wear your slippers in the garden. If you did, you would have been toast."

Naruto glanced at Sasuke. He was watching Sakura work.

Shikamaru and the others glanced at Sasuke.

Sasuke's rudeness apparently saved Naruto's life.

"What's with the blood you're donating?" Neji asked.

Sakura smiled. "The specters like me for some reason," she said.

Shikamaru smirked. If the specters were somewhat part of the elders, they didn't just like Sakura. They **adored** her like she was their own.

"When they taste my blood, they stop on whatever they are doing," Sakura said. "And back off. I think they understand what I want them to do, though I don't know how they would be able to do that."

"So whoever has the permission to enter this garden can give blood to stop the specters?" Shikamaru asked.

"Oh no," Sakura said. "We've tried Sasuke's blood before. They didn't stop. They even started consuming his blood. It's weird."

"They like Uchiha the wrong way," Kiba said, snickering.

"… The appetizing way," Chouji muttered, chuckling.

Sakura chuckled. "Yes," she said. "That must be it."

Sasuke took the towel and dipped it into the bowl of water. He then handed it to Sakura.

Sakura wiped the blood from Naruto's feet and to their surprise, the wound was gone. It was as if Naruto's skin hadn't been stripped off.

"H—How did you—" Naruto mumbled.

"They repair the damage they've done to whatever I ask them to spare," Sakura explained. "Now to clean the floor before Keiko sees it."

Sasuke grunted and started wiping the floor with the rug, while Sakura helped Naruto stand on his healed feet.

"Are you all going to the dining hall for breakfast?" Sakura asked, looking at Naruto then to Shikamaru and the others.

"Yes," Shikamaru said. "We're on our way there when we saw Sasuke here in the garden."

Sakura nodded and turned to Sasuke, who had wiped the floor clean of the stains. "Why were you here anyway?" she asked. "I thought you were going to send a message."

"I did send a message," Sasuke said, putting the bowl of water over the bucket. "I'll give this back to Keiko. I'll meet you in the dining hall." He turned away, not wanting Sakura to go after him.

Sakura anxiously looked away, understanding what Sasuke wanted her to do.

"Let's go!" Naruto excitedly said. "I'm starving!"

"Me too!" Chouji said, patting his tummy.

"You two are always hungry," Kiba muttered.

"Shall we?" Shikamaru said, smiling at Sakura.

Sakura smiled and nodded.

They led her away from the balcony.

Keiko watched Sasuke glance at the group, several paces away from him.

"You could have just left those," she said, looking at Sasuke. "You knew I was just here, watching you."

Sasuke didn't respond. He instead looked down at the bucket of muddy water. "Where do you want this?"

Keiko grunted. "Masochistic idiot," she muttered. "In the mess hall," she answered.

Sasuke walked away with the bucket.

"When are you going to try it again?" Keiko asked.

"After dinner," Sasuke answered.

Keiko closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "This is going to be a long day," she whispered.

* * *

"Ah! You're all awake!" Houren called out from the end of the hall.

"Good morning, Houren," Sakura greeted, smiling warmly at them as their group walked toward him.

Another man was with him – a middle-aged man wearing a light blue haori. He was smiling warmly at them.

"Oh! I didn't know you've arrived!" Sakura excited said, smiling at the man.

"I just got back," the man said.

Naruto and the others watched them curiously.

"Oh, how rude of me," Houren muttered. "Naruto, Shikamaru, Kiba, Chouji, Neji, Shino and cute little Akamaru, this is Kayuki Kaitaro."

Naruto, Shikamaru, Kiba, Chouji, Neji, Shino bowed in greeting.

"Kaitaro," Houren said. "These are the guests."

Kaitaro courteously bowed at them. "My grandfather has told me many things about you."

"Your grandfather?" Kiba, Chouji and Naruto asked.

"Yes," Kaitaro answered.

"Are you talking about the elders?" Neji asked.

"Oh no," Kaitaro said. "But speaking of them, I haven't seen them yet."

"They're a bit busy at the moment," Houren told Kaitaro.

"I see," Kaitaro said, nodding.

"Wait! If none of those ancient lizards is your grandfather," Naruto began. "How could you have known about us? They're the only old people we've met here."

Shikamaru stiffened – his eyes looking at Houren.

Houren noticed it. He glanced at Shikamaru and smiled widely at him. "Kaitaro-kun is my grandson," he said. "Well… Great, great-grandson, but he's my grandson nonetheless."

"**WHAT?!**" Naruto, Kiba and Chouji exclaimed.

Sakura chuckled. "Houren stopped aging centuries ago."

"Oh right," Kiba said. "You're immortal. But still! That's just… I can't even find the proper word for it!"

"'Astonishing' is fine," Houren said. "I understand it's not every day that you meet an aged man as beautiful as I."

Shikamaru, Neji, Shino, Naruto, Kiba, Chouji and Akamaru froze.

"That's not really what I meant," Kiba muttered.

"Otousan!" echoed a perky voice from one of the hallways.

They turned to see who it was and saw a dark-haired girl running excitedly toward them. Sasuke casually followed her.

"Keiko-chan!" Kaitaro greeted, opening his arms for a hug.

Keiko leaped into his arms and hugged him.

"O—Otousan?" Naruto asked, gawking at the scene.

"That's the snobbish girl who met us at the front door, right?" Chouji whispered.

"Yeah," Kiba replied. "I can't believe that kind man is her father, though I can definitely believe that she's Houren's granddaughter."

Kaitaro chuckled and held her tight. "How have you been?"

"I'm helping Oneesan in the clinic now!" Keiko proudly said.

Kaitaro chuckled and looked at Sakura. "I hope she hadn't caused you any trouble."

"Oh no, not at all," Sakura said, smiling at him. "She's been a great help to everyone in the clinic."

Sasuke approached the group and nodded to Kaitaro. "Welcome back," he said.

"I should say the same to you," Kaitaro said, smiling at Sasuke.

"So you've moved your descendants here," Shikamaru told Houren.

Houren smiled. "Yes," he said. "After our little village was destroyed and my time on your world was used up, I had to come back here. Luckily, the elders let me take my family here with me."

"So your whole clan is here," Neji said.

"Yes," Houren answered. "Kaitaro and Keiko. The rest of them had been murdered, you see."

Neji, Shikamaru and Shino glanced at each other.

Houren's family didn't seem like they suffered a lot.

"Let's eat!" Keiko said, taking her father's hand and pulling him to the door that led to the dining hall. "I prepared your favorite."

"You don't cook," Sasuke muttered.

Keiko glared at him. "HN!"

Sasuke glared coldly at her.

Sakura elbowed Sasuke. "She's a child!"

Sasuke frowned. "Hn," he bitterly grunted.

Keiko smirked and stuck out her tongue, annoying Sasuke.

"Keiko-chan," Kaitaro warned. "Where are your manners?"

"I'm sorry," she said, cuddling her father. "Let's eat! I'm hungry!"

Kaitaro sighed. He looked up at Sasuke with apologetic eyes. "I'm sorry, Uchiha-san."

Sasuke nodded. "Brat," he hissed.

"**Sasuke-kun**," Sakura hissed back, frowning at Sasuke.

Sasuke frowned and looked away.

Naruto watched everything with amazement in his eyes. This was the first time he saw Sasuke act like he **belonged** in a group… In a family…

"He's really changed," Kiba muttered beside Naruto.

"Yeah," Chouji said.

Neji smirked. "She really did it," he said.

Shikamaru frowned. "If only things weren't this messy," he muttered.

* * *

"**You're what?!**" Naruto exclaimed, jumping to his feet and looking at the elders seated on the front end of the table.

The elders joined them soon after they took their seats in the dining hall's long table. And just as Keiko mentioned, the attendants served hot ramen in the breakfast menu. The dinner's homey and warm ambience, however, was shattered by the Hokuryu's announcement.

"N-Naruto," Sakura anxiously called. She sat across from him and from where she stood she could feel the rage in his aura.

Sasuke, sitting next to her, took her hand and gave it a light squeeze.

She looked at him, but saw his eyes fixed calmly at Naruto.

She shouldn't interfere.

Sakura sighed and squeezed his hand back, telling him she understood.

"You said it's dangerous for her!" Naruto shouted.

"Indeed," Azumaryu said, looking jadedly at Naruto.

"And you're still going to do it?!" Naruto asked, glowering at Azumaryu. "You're going to give her memories back without the relic that can keep her from killing herself?!"

Shikamaru looked gravely at the elders. Neji glanced at Sasuke and noticed how stiff he was despite lacking any form of emotion on his face. Shino crossed his arms over his chest.

"I thought you care about her!" Kiba exclaimed, glaring at the elders.

Chouji frowned sadly at the pork skewers on his plate. He felt something tap his foot from in front of him. He looked across the table and saw Keiko looking at him.

"You want sauce on that?" she mouthed.

"N-no," he whispered, trying to smile. "I—I'm okay…"

Keiko nodded and looked down at the bowl of soup in front of her.

"Shouldn't you be happy that we'll be giving her memories back to her?" Nishiryu asked. "That's the only reason why we let Sasuke take you here, after all."

"W-What—" Naruto gasped, looking at Sasuke.

Sasuke just looked back at him.

"No way!" Kiba said. "You called us here so our village could work with you!"

"If we just wanted to work with your village, all we have to do is send Sasuke to Konoha," Hokuryu said. "We allowed you to stay here for another reason."

"We figured your presence might change things," Minamiryu said, yawning. "Anyway, we don't need your consent. We just told you about this because as members of her original social circle, you deserved to know about what we were going to do. You don't have to be there when we give her memories back."

"That won't exactly change anything then," Shikamaru said. "We'll watch you do what you need to do with her."

"What's wrong with you, Nara?!" Kiba shouted, glaring at Shikamaru. "They're going to kill Sakura!"

"There's a possibility that she won't kill herself the minute she sees us," Shikamaru said calmly. "Remember that the only stimulus she had to recall Konoha was Sasuke, and he doesn't exactly trigger the best of her memories in the village."

Kiba and Naruto looked down at the table. They were still angry, but they were seeing the wisdom in Shikamaru's words.

"I'm siding with Shikamaru on this," Chouji said.

Neji crossed his arms and leaned back on his chair. "I agree with Nara."

Shino nodded.

Kiba growled, frowned at the table and crossed his arms. "Fine," he muttered.

Naruto looked at Sakura. "Do you want to do this?"

Sakura looked up at him. She saw the anxiety and fear in his blue eyes. She forced herself to smile and nodded. "Relying on the relics isn't bad," she said. "… But it's not good either. If the relic doesn't work they way we expect it to work, there wouldn't be a point in keeping me away from things like this."

Naruto looked at Sasuke. Sasuke stared back at him.

He didn't like it either, but Sasuke knew it was something that they had to do… For Sakura…

Naruto sat down and closed his eyes. "When are you going to do this?"

"An hour after dinner," Hokuryu said. "So everyone can cool down for a moment."

Naruto nodded.

"I picked the wrong time to go home, didn't I?" Kaitaro whispered.

Houren snorted. "Nope," he whispered back. "You're just in time for the climax."

* * *

Sasuke stared out at the horizon – his eyes barely taking in the colorful sky, the bright green mountains, and the busy

His thoughts were all over the place. He had been trying to think of things that didn't concern Sakura so he could keep himself from feeling selfish enough to stop the elders. But every string of thought always led him to Sakura.

Even the idea of rebuilding his clan's honor flashed an image of Sakura in his mind.

"You can just stop them," he heard Keiko's voice say from behind him.

He frowned.

He sneaked out into the eight floor balcony of the temple's tower after dinner so he could clear his head. And Keiko, playing the role of his conscience, wasn't helping him do what he wanted.

"Do you want me to tell you what's going to happen next?" Keiko asked, leaning against the nearest wall.

Sasuke bit his lips.

Keiko could see accurate glimpses of the future. And her calm response on what was going on told Sasuke she had seen how Sakura would act when the barrier in her mind erased.

"Is she ready?" Sasuke asked.

Keiko smirked. "No," she said. "She needs your encouragement."

"I can't give that now," Sasuke said.

"I know," Keiko replied. "But she needs you."

Sasuke took a deep breath and sighed. "What should I do?"

"Don't show yourself," Keiko grimly said, looking sadly at Sasuke. "Don't let her see you until she's seen Naruto and the others."

Sasuke winced and nodded.

"Let's go," Keiko said, leaning away from the wall. "Kiss her goodbye at least."

Sasuke turned away from the scenery and followed Keiko out of the room.

* * *

Sakura sat down on the bed.

The last time she walked into that room, the elders said they would put her under a test to see if it was safe for her to remember her past. She recalled seeing Sasuke's anxious face that day, watching her – his dark eyes fearful and hopeful as Houren made her lie down on the bed.

She remembered hearing Hokuryu's voice, telling her to relax… Her vision blurring…And everything being swallowed by darkness.

When she woke up, she was in her bedroom – bedridden and wrapped in several bandages. She was told she had a few fractures here and there, and that the test didn't go well. Sasuke acted more distant toward her since then. It wasn't until Hokuryu talked to him that he started to let her in.

Being in that room once more, knowing she would once again be placed into the same test she underwent before…

Sakura shut her eyes.

What if she failed the test again? What if she Sasuke decided to distance himself once more? Or worse, what if he decided to get away from her for good?

What if—

"Sakura," she heard Naruto's voice in the darkness.

She opened her eyes and realized she wasn't alone in the room. Naruto and his friends were there with the elders. They were being briefed on what they were going to do.

Naruto's blue eyes were full of concern.

How could she have a memory of Naruto attempting to kill Sasuke when he seemed like such a good friend to Sasuke?

"You don't have to go through with this," he said.

Sakura smiled. "No," she said. "I have to do this. Have you seen Sasuke-kun?"

Naruto smiled sadly at him. "He's probably just helping Keiko-chan in the mess hall."

Sakura sighed and nodded.

He was probably as depressed about what would happen as she was. Maybe he was even more depressed than she was.

"Sakura," she heard Sasuke's voice call. She gasped and looked at the door.

"Ah! There you are, Teme," Naruto said, smiling at Sasuke, who was walking into the room with Keiko. "We were wondering where you were."

Keiko stopped by the door and watched Sasuke approach Naruto and Sakura.

"I'll speak to her," Sasuke told Naruto. It sounded more like an order though.

Naruto stared surprised at him for a moment. But he nodded and turned to Sakura. "I'll go ask Keiko to prepare me ramen for lunch." He then sprinted toward Keiko. "Neh, Keiko-chan—!"

Sakura smiled as Naruto and Keiko started bickering. She was about to look at Sasuke when her eyes noticed Houren, glancing at them.

Houren smiled at her, lifted his finger to his lips as if telling her a secret, and winked. She felt a gust of chakra burst from under the bed, covering her and Sasuke.

She swallowed.

"You'll be alright," Sasuke said.

Sakura shook her head – tears peaking from her eyes. "It doesn't look like I'll be alright."

"Don't be silly," Sasuke said. "Keiko told me you'll be fine."

Sakura felt her heart skip. "Did she tell you we'll be alright? I'll remember and I won't hurt you?"

Sasuke didn't answer.

Sakura felt her heart sink. She squeezed his hands. "Did she tell you we'll still be with each other after this?"

Sasuke didn't respond.

Sakura frowned. "I'm not going through with this," she said. "I'm **not** going to remember. **I don't want to remember!**"

Sasuke leaned forward, held her cheek and locked his lips with hers.

Sakura closed her eyes. She felt her tears slide down her cheeks.

"I want you to remember," Sasuke whispered when he leaned away. He looked deep into her glistening green eyes and smiled. "Remember – for me."

Sakura let herself crumble. She pulled Sasuke in her arms and cried.

No one else in the room seemed to notice what was going on between them.

"You'll be fine," Sasuke whispered in her ear. "You'll be fine."

* * *

Naruto, Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba, Akamaru and Shino stood around the bed where Sakura was. She had her blank green eyes fixed at the ceiling.

Hokuryu sat down on the bed beside her. The other elders stood near him. Houren and Kaitaro stood next to the elders. Sasuke stood behind them.

Hokuryu raised his hand, covered Sakura's eyes with his palm, and whispered something Naruto couldn't hear clearly. He then slid his hand down to her chin, as if he wiped something away from her face.

"Haruno Sakura?" Hokuryu asked.

"Yes?" Sakura winced. She rubbed her eyes and looked up at Hokuryu. "Who- Who are you?" she asked. She looked around seeing the elders, the ceiling, the furniture…

"Houren?" Sakura asked, sitting up. Her eyes wandered further and noticed other faces in the room. "Dr. Kayuki?"

Naruto watched shock and confusion flood Sakura's face. He stiffened – tension building up in his veins.

"Naruto?" Sakura asked, wincing at him. "Shikamaru? Chouji? Kiba… Akamaru… Neji? Shino?! What the— Why… Where am I? This doesn't look like the Konoha hospital!"

Everyone froze.

Sakura could remember Konoha. It's safe to say that she could remember everything. But she wasn't doing what the elders said she does when she remembers everything.

She looked confused at the elders. "Who are you? Why are you looking at me like that? Where am I?"

"Sakura—" Naruto said, walking closer to her.

"**WHERE AM I?!**" Sakura cried – her green eyes flaring with fear, shock, bewilderment and anxiety. She scooted back to the head-board of the bed, feeling scared at what was going on.

"Sakura-san," Kaitaro said, stepping forward to help her. "Calm down. It's alright."

Kaitaro forgot where he was standing and his movement made Sakura notice someone else in the room.

She froze – her eyes taking in the familiar face.

Everyone in the room turned to look at Sasuke. He stood still – his eyes showing just how terrified he was.

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura breathed.

Images rushed into Sakura's thoughts – snow, pain, blood, winter, death, bandages, fire, children, ANBU, ice—

_Set me free._


	10. Chapter 10

_Posting this before I forget to do so next week. Thank you all again for still reading and reviewing this story! _^ v ^

* * *

Crashing stone walls… Rocking concrete floors… Loud cries of pain… Suffocating tension in the air…

The room was in chaos when Keiko ran back into the room.

She chose to stay in the hallway when the elders started to pull the barrier in Sakura's mind down. After all, she already had an idea on what was going to happen. She just watched snippets of the future, afraid that knowing what would happen would break her heart. And she had already warned Sasuke on what he should do to keep Sakura safe. So in theory, things should work fine.

Then the walls cracked and loud crashing sounds echoed from the room. She ran back into the scene on impulse, worried not only for her father but for everyone in the room. When she slammed the door open, Naruto, Kiba, Akamaru, Neji, Shino and Chouji were bouncing off the cracking walls. Gusts of white fog flew around the room to catch them.

Shikamaru was kneeling on the floor – his fingers joined in a hand seal. He was wheezing. Blood was streaming down the side of his lips as he looked sharply at the commotion in front of him. His shadow seemed to stretch far beneath his target.

The elders were on their feet, rigid and observing what was happening.

Houren was crouched on the floor. His eyes were fixed at Sakura, who was literally frozen in a stance that said she just fired a massive right-hook. A giant lump of ice froze her body from the chest down, keeping her from moving.

"STOP!" Sasuke cried – fear and desperation flooding his eyes. Kaitaro was keeping him pinned against a corner. "**NO**! She'll break her bones!"

Keiko noticed Sakura's limbs shivering in the ice. She was trying to get out of the iceberg that had caged her.

"You can't be serious," Shikamaru wheezed, watching Sakura's arm twitching in the ice and wincing at the burning sensation in his insides. He wasn't a medic ninja but he was sure he broke a rib or two, bruised some internal tissue, and gashed some organs.

Luckily, he anticipated the worst case scenario though he had to admit Sakura's speed caught him off-guard. He wasn't able to move away from her attack fast enough before he did the Shadow Bind technique.

No. It wasn't just her speed. Sure she was strong enough to hurl them across the room like she just did, but what gave them internal injuries wasn't just her right hook. It was the chakra that resonated from her punch – the intense chakra that seeped through his nerves and twisted his body tissues.

Shikamaru didn't know she could do that technique nor did he know she had enough chakra to create a massive invisible chakra weapon.

Was it one of the tricks she learned from Houren?

Add to that Sakura's attempts to free herself from the ice – her arms moving, though slightly, against the fetters. He couldn't believe she could be strong enough to withstand even his Shadow Bind. He moved his limbs, directing Sakura's so it stopped resisting the icy restraints.

He cursed. Sakura's limbs were trembling. She was also resisting his commands. If she continued to fight the Shadow Bind, she would—

"**STOP IT!**" Sasuke cried.

A long jagged line emerged from the ice holding Sakura's arms and legs. The ice cracked.

Houren cursed. "Put her to sleep!" he shouted. "One more and I'll kill her!"

Keiko quickly leaped into the air and aimed to strike the nerves on Sakura's neck. But the ice shattered and Sakura swung her arm at Keiko, throwing her back against the wall.

"Keiko-chan!" Kaitaro called, running to catch his daughter. Keiko fell unconscious in his arms.

Sasuke took it as an opportunity to get out of the corner. He pounced on Sakura, pinning her to the floor. He pushed her flailing arms down and winced when he noticed the distortion on her limbs.

"Sakura-chan," Naruto called, wincing as he crawled to her side. She was screaming, more to defend herself than in pain. "Stop it! **Please! **It's me, Naruto!"

"Hold her down," Sasuke ordered, keeping his eyes on Sakura.

Naruto quickly held her arms and legs down. Sasuke then tapped a nerve above her jaw. Sakura stopped moving.

Everyone stared blankly at Sakura – each of them holding their breath, wondering if she was really unconscious. It was only when Houren sighed that everyone relaxed. Shikamaru let himself fall on the ground, crouched on his side. He coughed and stained the floor with specks of blood.

Chouji, Kiba, Akamaru, Neji and Shino did the same, allowing their bodies to rest on the cold floor. They couldn't move much with the ribs severing their innards with every breath they took. Kaitaro cradled Keiko, and examined her for bruises and serious injury.

Sasuke dropped his head on the crook of her neck.

Naruto looked surprised at what his friend did but he sighed and slumped on the floor. He winced at the burning pain in his stomach and at the taste of bile and rust flooding his mouth.

He didn't expect any of that to happen. She was fine! She was fine until— Naruto shut his eyes. It wasn't Sasuke's fault. They all should have waited for the relic before they tried to give her memories back to her. He had to admit that the experience was horrifying and painful. But it made him realize just how important their new mission was.

He would save Sakura. He would save Konoha. And he would help Sasuke. He would complete his family – something he knew Sasuke also wanted to do.

Naruto cursed and tried to stand up again. Everyone was down and emotionally exhausted, even him. He opened his eyes and saw the elders walking toward Kiba and the others. Kaitaro was sighing in relief. Houren was lying on his back – taking a breather.

Everyone was alive, even Sakura. And that was one thing that made him smile with relief. "See?" he said chuckling. "I told you, we need that relic."

"Shut up," Shikamaru sharply hissed.

Naruto frowned and looked up at Shikamaru. "What?" he said. "It's too troublesome for you to look at the bright side too?"

Shikamaru nodded toward Sasuke.

Naruto turned to look at Sasuke, confused at what Shikamaru meant. He stiffened.

Sasuke's shoulders were shaking. And in the silence of the room, Naruto could hear faint sobs from where Sasuke and Sakura were.

Naruto looked sadly down at Sakura. He was sure she broke and dislocated more than one bone in her body. He remembered how Sasuke cried out, warning them of the injuries she would inflict on herself.

Naruto sighed and slumped on the floor – his hand gripping Sakura's limp one. He knew what was going on in Sasuke's mind, and he couldn't blame him. If he was in Sasuke's position, he would think of the same thoughts running in his friend's mind at that moment.

But it wasn't Sasuke's fault, nor was it Sakura's. They would fix everything. Sakura will be better. He won't give up until she was cured. The next time Sakura wakes up with her memories, she would be smiling at him and Sasuke. She would be punching him for being a headache, but she would be happy to be alive.

"I'm calling the nurses," Azumaryu said before gliding to the hall. The other elders began to examine Neji, Akamaru and Kiba.

Chouji crawled to Shikamaru's side. "Do you know what just happened?" he whispered, wincing at his internal injuries. "I just remember seeing Sakura freeze when she saw Sasuke, and hitting the wall."

Shikamaru sighed. "Not really," he said watching Sasuke weep on Sakura's shoulder. "But I know what's going to happen next."

* * *

"Thank you so much for coming," Shouta, the village leader said, bowing to Kakashi. A hope-filled smile filled his exhausted face. "We've been worried about the raids for a long time now, especially when the nearby village was raided."

Kakashi and his team paid their respects to the village leader, who requested Konoha for assistance. Villages, even the poorest ones, had sought assistance from various ninja groups since the raids began. And with the information Sasuke and Jirotaiku provided, they were able to see which of the requests had to be prioritized.

The village where Kakashi and his team were assigned was one of the poor ones. Konoha noticed that the raiders had been targeting the less notable communities, probably because they believed they were too weak and economically challenged to prepare for an attack.

"We're glad we can help," Kakashi replied. Ino, Lee, Sai and Hinata sat behind him. They met Shouta in his home and were warmly served with steamy cups of tea. "I heard some of the villagers who survived the raid moved here. Is this true?"

"Yes," Shouta answered. "Some of us have adopted them in their homes. They had nowhere to go. A lot of them are still traumatized at what happened. Would you like to speak with them?"

"Yes," Kakashi said. "That would be very helpful to us. Had they told you stories about how their village was raided?"

"Some of them said they woke up with their houses burning," Shouta answered. "Some of them said they were dragged out of their homes. We couldn't get a detailed description from them because they were too shaken to recall what happened."

Kakashi nodded. "I understand," he said. "Can you give us the address of the refugees?"

"Yes," Shouta said, standing up from the floor. "Please let me get the list." He rushed into the adjacent room.

"He said 'some of them,'" Ino said. "Does that mean those refugees are from different villages?"

"It's a possibility," Kakashi answered. "The raids seemed to vary, depending on the group that was responsible for them. So far, what we know about our target is that they attack at night and they leave villages in flames."

Hinata looked sadly down at her lap. She remembered the gloominess of the village when they arrived. The adults had confined their children inside their homes. She saw the young ones looking curiously at them from the windows. Even the women seemed to have been hidden away. The only people they saw in the streets were tired, middle-aged men looking wearily at them.

It was so different from Konoha. Sure children in their village were usually training with weaponry and martial arts. But they were also outside playing with their friends – enjoying the beautiful sunny day. Women were free to roam around and mingle with their friends too. No one in Konoha felt afraid to be out in the day.

The threat of the raid felt so close and suffocating in the village Hinata was in. And seeing the people they were going to protect… How could anyone think of looting them like animals? Of selling them to be murdered in cold blood..?

"We have to protect them," Hinata said, tightly clenching her fists.

Ino, Kakashi, Lee and Sai glanced at Hinata.

"**All** of them," Hinata continued.

Ino smirked. "Don't worry," she said. "Those monsters won't stand a chance against us."

Kakashi sighed. They were able to reach the village earlier than the raiders. Before they entered the village, he sent Pakkun out to survey the area. The dog confirmed that the raiders were on their way, and that gauging by their distance, they would reach the village that evening. It meant Kakashi and his team would still have time to prepare for the attack. So far, things had gone as planned.

But he couldn't help but feel that something bad had just happened.

* * *

Kiba yawned. He lay on the bed with Akamaru sleeping beside him. The dog was given a heavy sedative to help his internal injuries heal faster. Akamaru sprinted in front of Kiba when Sakura started to attack them, recieving far more serious blows to than Kiba.

Akamaru wasn't the only aid that suffered though. Even Shino lost a number of beetles when they formed a barrier to protect him from Sakura's attack.

Naruto, Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba, Akamaru, Neji and Shino were all taken back to their quarters after the nurses gave them first aid. They decided to treat the injuries in the sleeping quarters, instead of the clinic, so they didn't scare the villagers.

Apparently, the elders' specters made sure that what happened within the building didn't cause a fuss beyond its doors.

Naruto, Chouji, Shikamaru, Neji and Shino were on their beds, staring at the ceiling.

"Geez," Kiba said. "I had great respect for Sakura then, but I feel like I have greater respect for her now. She's so much scarier than Hinata."

"That's very sensitive of you, Kiba," Chouji said, frowning.

"What..? What did I say?" Kiba asked, scowling at Chouji.

Chouji nodded to Naruto, who was looking blankly at the ceiling.

Kiba sighed and scratched his head. "Sorry," he muttered.

"That really was scary," Neji muttered. "I never thought I'd see Uchiha cry."

"It felt like the world was ending," Kiba said. "I bet when Neji cries with Sasuke, it really will."

Neji glared at Kiba.

"So none of us expected Sakura to hurl us across the room?" Chouji asked.

"I was expecting her to stab herself, honestly," Kiba answered. "I mean, they said she would be desperate to kill herself. So why did she try to kill us?"

"Good question," Shikamaru muttered.

Kiba frowned at Shikamaru. "And knowing you," he said. "You've already figured it out."

"Not really," Shikamaru said.

Kiba snorted. "You're not fooling anyone here, Nara," he muttered.

"I wonder how Sasuke's doing," Chouji said, rubbing his stomach.

Luckily, the medical team in the temple was more advanced than the medic ninjas in Konoha. Their severe internal injuries were healed in minutes. Chouji was told he would be able to eat again, but not as much as he regularly did because their healed wounds left bruises that needed some time to heal.

"Yeah. Did you see him when they were taking Sakura to her room?" Kiba asked – his voice low and serious. "I never thought I'd feel sorry for the guy. He couldn't even lift his head up. He just stayed on the floor like he was beaten up."

"Neh, Shikamaru," Naruto said, looking straight and solemn at the ceiling.

Shikamaru glanced at him.

"Tell us what you know," he continued.

"Yeah, Nara," Kiba exclaimed. "Stop being so troublesome!"

"Tch," Shikamaru snorted. "Troublesome."

"Nara," Neji said, urging him to talk.

Shikamaru took a deep breath and sighed. "It's of no use anyway," he said. "When we first saw Sakura, what did you see on her face?"

"Happiness?" Chouji asked.

"No," Shikamaru said. "When she saw **us** – what was the expression on her face?"

"Surprise," Kiba said.

"Fright," Shino answered.

"Eh?" Chouji asked. Naruto looked confused at Shino.

"Oh yeah! Especially when Naruto harassed her!" Kiba said, snickering.

"That wasn't what I did!" Naruto defensively yelled at Kiba. "I missed her," he muttered. "And I didn't know she—"

"Whatever," Kiba muttered, smirking.

"Besides, she didn't know us," Chouji said.

"That's what I was about to say!" Naruto said, frowning.

"Neji," Shikamaru said. "If you saw Hinata with Shino, how would you feel?"

"Nothing," Neji answered.

"And if you saw Hinata with Naruto?" Shikamaru asked.

"Me?" Naruto asked, looking confused at Shikamaru. "Why me?"

"I'll kill him," Neji answered.

"HEY!" Naruto said, sitting up. "Why the hell would you do that?!"

Kiba laughed. "That's a good one, Hyuuga!"

"I'll do the same thing to you if she shows up in the house with you," Neji said, looking sharply at Kiba.

"OI! Hinata and I are team mates!" Kiba defensively said.

Shikamaru sighed. "Troublesome," he muttered.

"Why did you ask those questions, Shikamaru?" Chouji asked.

"Yeah," Kiba said. "What's the connection?"

"Let me just get this straight," Shikamaru said. "If you saw an important person in your life with someone that would most likely hurt them, how would you feel?"

"Worried," Naruto answered.

"Yeah, I'd be worried too," Kiba said. "And angry!"

"And scared," Chouji added.

"Sakura was scared of us because she thought we're a threat to Sasuke's life," Shino said.

"Bingo," Shikamaru said.

"**WHAT?!**" Kiba, Chouji and Naruto exclaimed.

"We're a threat to Uchiha?" Kiba asked. "Uchiha was the threat to everyone in Konoha! It's **him** she should be afraid of, not us! Heck! He almost killed all of us back in the war."

"You're forgetting the fact that she isn't supposed to remember anything about that," Shikamaru said.

"Oh yeah," Kiba said, nodding.

"You think Sasuke told her stories about us?" Chouji asked.

"I doubt that," Shikamaru said. "Seeing Sasuke's response to what happened earlier, I'd say he would do anything to keep her away from things that would remind her of Konoha or of any of us."

"So how did Sakura-chan think we're a threat to Teme?" Naruto asked.

"It's the false memory, isn't it?" Neji said. "She unconsciously remembers it."

"That's possible," Shikamaru said.

"And whatever it is, it has something to do with us hurting Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

"She would believe that?!" Kiba said. "Come on! You must be talking about a different girl here!"

"They did say she wanted to kill herself to set Sasuke free from the seal she put on him," Shino said. "So it's possible that Sasuke was in danger in that memory."

Kiba, Naruto and Chouji just frowned at Shino.

"Why do you think Sasuke would need to regain his abilities?" Shikamaru asked.

"The false memory has an image of Sasuke unable to defend himself," Neji said. "And us—"

"We were trying to kill Sasuke," Shikamaru said.

"And that's why she was scared of us," Naruto concluded.

"Houren's grandchild screwed up with Sakura's memory of the last ninja war?" Kiba asked.

"Yeah," Chouji said, sitting up. "Shouldn't her memory of the ninja war tell her it's fake?"

"I don't think Houren's grandchild messed up Sakura's memory of the war," Shikamaru said. "It instead created a memory of an event that she hadn't witnessed yet, using her memories of the war – a memory of the event when Sasuke, knowing about the seal she put on him, returned to Konoha."

"And her anxiety on how that event would happen," Shino said. "Created details that made it seem real to her."

"So she expected us to kill Sasuke?" Chouji asked.

"That was the order," Shikamaru said. "Kill him before he killed anyone."

"**WHAT?!**" Naruto exclaimed. "What do you mean? What order?!"

"That time when we thought something big was happening," Kiba said, realizing what Shikamaru meant. "You were all planning to kill Sasuke when he came back from his mission!"

"So you **knew** about what Sakura did?" Naruto asked. "AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME?!"

"A lot of people saw what happened," Shikamaru said. "But very few of them understood what they saw. The Hokage didn't want those few people to talk and we a lot of us knew why. But it didn't keep some people from telling the elders about what happened. They put Sakura on trial for reviving Sasuke."

"WHAT THE— WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?!" Naruto said, sitting up and throwing the thick blanket off of his chest.

"You were in a coma then, Naruto," Neji explained.

"And where were **we**?" Kiba asked, frowning at Neji. "I didn't know about this trial until now."

"The hospital, most likely," Shino said. "…The less people who knew, the better."

"You knew about this too, Shino?!" Kiba asked.

"Not that much," Shino answered. "It wasn't that important."

"HOW WAS THAT NOT IMPORTANT?!" Naruto yelled.

"What happened to the trial?" Chouji asked.

"Sakura promised the village elders that Sasuke won't cause any trouble," Shikamaru answered. "If he did, she told them to kill her for putting Sasuke first over the village."

"Uchiha killed several ANBU though," Neji said.

"She made that promise after she sealed Sasuke's rage inside her," Shikamaru explained.

"Is that why they moved him to an underground cell?" Chouji asked.

"It was an attempt to keep people safe, yes," Shikamaru said. "But it wasn't to keep Sakura alive. After what happened almost everyone who knew about what Sakura did wanted her dead for betraying Konoha."

"Saving Sasuke is the same as betraying Konoha?" Naruto asked. "Sasuke is a Konoha ninja!"

"Oh shut up, Naruto," Kiba said. "He wasn't a Konoha ninja again until he got out of prison and was reinstated as a Genin!"

"Wait!" Chouji said, frowning in deep thought at Shikamaru. "So you were expecting Sasuke to be stronger when he returned to Konoha from his last mission."

Shikamaru smirked.

"Meaning you were all expecting Sakura to die?" Chouji asked.

Naruto, Kiba and Neji froze.

"Yes," Shikamaru answered. "Yes, we were. The main reason Sasuke was sent on that mission was to kill her. Sakura wrote a note to the Hokage in the last mission report Jirotaiku sent back to Konoha, requesting for Sasuke's involvement in her mission. She was dying then, but she wasn't planning on telling Sasuke anything about what she did. If I remember correctly, she was planning on fighting him to the death. Of course, she'll most likely end up dead after the duel. And Sasuke would notice the change in his body once she died. If he realized someone messed up with his abilities and he decided to return to Konoha to continue his vengeance, she told the Hokage to kill him the minute he was spotted near the gates."

Naruto shut his eyes and shook his head. Sakura planned to kill herself and told Tsunade to kill Sasuke..?

"You knew all of this, how?" Kiba asked.

"I have my resources," Shikamaru answered.

"That's just sick though," Chouji said. "I mean, she would really do that?

"Remember that Sakura was severely ill at the time," Shikamaru said. "She didn't think she would live through the disease. And you all know how she cares about him. She was worried about what would happen if she died without fixing the mess she made."

"And she didn't think Uchiha would let himself be enslaved by the elders to save her life," Neji said.

"It didn't really seem possible," Shino said.

"So she has a memory of Sasuke's return to Konoha when he learned about the truth," Kiba said, trying to piece the information together. "In that memory, he threatens Konoha and we all try to kill him. And that forces her to kill herself so he could defend himself."

"Wait," Chouji said. "If she has a memory of Sasuke like that, wouldn't that mean the possibility of Sasuke not knowing about what she did had been erased from her mind?"

"This is giving me a headache," Kiba muttered, scowling.

"Either Sakura told Sasuke about the seal, or Sasuke already learned it from someone and it pissed him off," Shino said.

"Sakura knew Sasuke already found out about what she did," Neji said. "And she probably saw him feeling angry about what she did. That's why she believed the false memory."

"Whoah so Sasuke confronted her about it?" Kiba asked.

"It doesn't seem to add up though," Neji said, frowning in deep thought. "If Uchiha knew about the seal already, why didn't he kill her before he left for Konoha? It doesn't make sense."

"That's because love doesn't make sense," said someone from the door.

Shikamaru, Naruto, Chouji, Kiba, and Shino looked at the door and saw Houren smiling at them.

"Hey," Houren said, smiling at them. "How are our patients?"

"Better," Kiba answered. "Are you going to help us out here?"

Houren chuckled. "Well it does sound interesting," he said, walking to the nearest chair. He sat down and smiled. "And here I thought because you're injured, you won't push yourselves into solving this mind-boggling head-aching mystery. So what do you want to know?"

"What happened?" Neji asked. "And we need the details."

"Sasuke knows more about it than I do," Houren said. "But since I stalked him a lot back then, I'll tell you what I know."

Naruto, Kiba and Chouji cringed at the thought of Houren lurking in Sasuke's shadow.

"You stalked Sasuke?" Naruto asked. "I thought you had grandchildren!"

"I thought Sasuke was a girl," Houren explained, smiling innocently at Naruto.

Kiba, Chouji and Naruto burst into laughter.

"He'll kill you when he hears that," Kiba said.

"You're not going to tell him, are you?" Houren said – his cheerful smiling turning into an eerie one.

Kiba, Chouji and Naruto stiffened.

"Connect the dots for me," Shikamaru said, redirecting the conversation.

"You already have," Houren said, smiling at Shikamaru.

"You're saying Sasuke didn't kill Sakura when he learned about what she did because he 'loved' her?" Neji asked.

"I can't answer that," Houren said. "I'm not Sasuke. I do know that my devious grandchild told Sasuke about what she did, and how he was going to give Sakura a death sentence. When Sasuke confronted Sakura, he told her that she deserved to die a slow and painful death so he left her for my grandchild to burn at the stake."

Neji, Chouji, and Kiba frowned.

"That's not Sasuke," Kiba said. "Sure the death sentence sounded brutal but he would prefer to make sure who wronged him was dead, rather than wait for someone else to do the kill!"

Houren smirked.

"Unless we take into consideration the fact that Sakura still kept his savage emotions inside her at the time, and the possibility that Sasuke did have feelings for Sakura," Shikamaru said. "Though I admit it's highly improbable, the latter is still possible. He grew fond of her, at least, while he was taking care of her."

"If he cared for Sakura that much that he didn't kill her," Kiba said. "Would he still be vicious enough to threaten Konoha?"

"So it still doesn't make sense," Chouji said. "He won't leave Sakura there to die by someone else's hand when he can kill her."

"**AGHHHHHH!**" Naruto yelled, furiously scratching his head. "This is giving me a headache! Just tell us what happened!"

"But I don't exactly know what happened," Houren said, smiling at them. "I wasn't supposed to be there."

"And yet you were," Kiba muttered, frowning at Houren.

"Okay, I was," Houren said, shrugging his shoulders. "But I have no idea what exactly was going on in their heads."

"Fair enough," Neji said, nodding.

"Here's what I think though," Houren said. "First, Sakura didn't perfectly execute the techniques she did on Sasuke. That's why Sasuke turned into an unconscious parasite and Sakura a host."

"You're saying she overdid the technique that locked his emotions inside her," Shikamaru said.

Houren nodded. "Again, it's all a play of memory," he said. "Sasuke remembered the events, but not the strong negative feelings that came with the event. It was like he 'moved on' in your sense of the term."

"She forced him to get over the tragedies in his life," Neji said, surprised.

Houren chuckled. "Close, but not quite," he said. "How patient was Sasuke with children in your village since he got out of prison?"

"Very patient, apparently," Chouji said. "I saw him training kids how to throw kunai at one time."

"Yeah!" Naruto said. "He was very good with kids. The Genin teams love him! I didn't know he could be like that!"

Houren smiled.

"So Sakura also made Sasuke incapable of holding a grudge, or of easily getting mad at people," Shikamaru said, smirking.

"She accidentally brought her back to the Sasuke that was more or less close to the Sasuke who hadn't lost his family yet," Houren explained.

…Silence.

"Damn," Kiba muttered. "You can do that? You give me the creeps!"

Houren laughed. "That's why we don't want to have any access to your world," he said. "You're so easy to play with that we might end up crossing the line."

"Okay," Chouji said. "That's what happened. But Sakura's still alive so… Is his emotions still sealed inside Sakura?"

"No," Houren answered. "The seal shattered when her heartbeat stopped. That's the only loophole in the technique she did, you see. When it her heart began to beat again, the seal had been undone."

"So Teme should have all his emotions or memory of those negative emotions back now," Naruto said.

"And yet he doesn't act like he has them," Chouji said, frowning.

Houren chuckled. "I'm afraid I won't be able to explain how that happened," he said. "That's something only Sasuke can answer."

"If we follow the senseless and illogical way of analyzing this," Shino said. "We'll find an answer."

"Sasuke fell in love with Sakura?" Chouji asked.

Kiba cringed. "I can't believe how disgusting this discussion has become."

Houren laughed.

"Okay so let me get this straight," Naruto said, frowning. "Sasuke found out Sakura messed with his chakra and emotions. He confronted her but he didn't kill her because he couldn't, because he supposedly fell in love with her and stuff like that. He leaves her?"

"Yes," Houren answered. "He leaves her. My grandson arrests her."

"Your grandson plants the false memory," Neji continued.

"The false memory is about what Sasuke might have done when he left Sakura," Kiba said. "…Which was he went back to Konoha wanting to kill everyone, and all of us try to kill him back. He couldn't fight us because of Sakura's seal so Sakura decides to kill herself..?"

"Yeah," Chouji muttered. "Something still doesn't add up. So the memory involves us killing Sasuke. Shouldn't seeing our faces earlier trigger her suicidal tendencies the way seeing Sasuke's face did?"

"You're especially sharp today," Kiba muttered, looking curiously at Chouji.

"I'm hungry," Chouji mumbled.

"Which means Sasuke's face played a more exceptional role in the memory," Shikamaru said, continuing Chouji's train of thought.

"But what could he have done in the memory?" Neji asked. "Other than, I'm sure, helplessly attempting to defend himself."

"If we were all in the memory," Shikamaru said. "How come only Sasuke's face triggered the suicidal impulse?"

"Very good," Houren said. "You're all good really good at this."

"So..? Why was Sasuke's face the only trigger?" Naruto asked.

Silence swarmed the room once more. Naruto, Chouji, Kiba, Neji and Shino waited for Houren to speak. But he just smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

"Maybe it's her feelings for Sasuke?" Chouji asked, glancing at the others.

Shikamaru sighed and closed his eyes. "Troublesome," he muttered.

Kiba frowned at him. "You've figured it out again though, haven't you?"

Naruto and the others looked at Shikamaru. Shikamaru just yawned.

"Spit it out, Shikamaru!" Naruto said.

Houren smirked and looked sadly down at his feet.

Shikamaru scratched his head, sighing. "If Sasuke told her he loved her, do you think Sakura would take it seriously?" he asked.

Kiba burst into laughter. "What kind of a question is that?! She's been dying to hear that from him for like... forever!"

"How do you know that?" Chouji asked.

"My ears had heard a lot of female chitchat for the past years," Kiba muttered.

"If Sasuke told her he would never love her, do you think Sakura would take it seriously?" Shikamaru asked, ignoring Kiba's remark.

"I think she'll be more heartbroken than she already is," Chouji answered.

Neji looked grimly at Shikamaru. "If Sasuke told Sakura to kill herself," he said.

Naruto, Kiba and Chouji stared shocked at Neji.

Shikamaru smirked. "…If he **begged**."

Houren looked down at his lap. "If he told her it was the only way she could save him," he said.

Chouji sighed, exhausted at the outcome of their head aching discussion. Naruto looked sadly down at his lap. Kiba shook his head and looked at Houren.

"Your grandchild hated Sakura that much?" he asked.

Houren smiled sadly at him. "It's a long story."

Naruto took a deep breath and sighed. "Does Sasuke know about this?"

"Nope," Houren said, leaning back on his chair and crossing his legs. "You should tell him, though I doubt it would make him change his decision."

"What decision?" Naruto asked, looking confused at Houren. Kiba, Chouji, Neji and Shino also looked curiously at Houren.

"Ah! Now I remember why I visited all of you," Houren said, smiling. "I was supposed to tell you that Sasuke has made up his mind. You will go back to Konoha with Sakura after those prehistoric men puts the barrier back up."

"And Sasuke..?" Naruto asked.

"He'll stay here for good," Houren said. "He's spoken to the ancient ones about it."

"WHAT?!" Naruto exclaimed. "W-Why would he do that!"

Shikamaru chuckled. "He's a melodramatic romantic emo after all!" he muttered.

"It's not funny, Shikamaru!" Naruto said, glowering at Shikamaru. "I'm not letting him act on his stupidity!"

"Sasuke has a point though," Kiba said. "He's the only one triggering Sakura's suicidal tendencies. And if you look at his effect on Sakura's life even before all this fuss began, the only way to give her a good life is kick him out of the picture – let her have a future with someone better than him."

"Why do you sound like you're in love with Sakura?" Chouji asked.

"I'M NOT IN LOVE WITH HER! I'M JUST STATING A FACT!" Kiba yelled – cheeks flushed.

"No way," Naruto insisted. "Sasuke is family! I'm sure Sakura-chan would be more heartbroken if he doesn't leave this place with us. And I'm **never** going to let Dog-boy here have Sakura-chan!"

"I'M NOT IN LOVE WITH HER!" Kiba shouted – his cheeks a deeper shade of red. "I WAS JUST BEING LOGICAL!"

"I understand Inuzuka's point," Neji said. "Though I don't think he was being logical, nor do I think Sakura should end up with him."

"WHAT THE HELL, HYUUGA!" Kiba exclaimed.

"How many years has it been since Sasuke left Konoha?" Neji asked. "And I mean since he left for the Snake Sanin."

"Ooh, Konoha history," Houren mumbled excitedly.

Naruto, Kiba, Chouji and Shino nodded.

"How many men have tried to woo Sakura?" Neji asked. "And how many of them succeeded?"

"They couldn't really get that far with Naruto around," Kiba said.

"Are you speaking from experience?" Chouji asked.

"CUT IT OUT, AKIMICHI!" Kiba yelled. "STOP SPREADING LIES!"

"It's not entirely a lie though," Shino muttered.

"OI! What on earth are you talking about, Shino?!" Kiba shouted, glaring at Shino.

"Back to the point," Neji said. "Even if we kick Uchiha out of the picture, what makes you all so sure that Sakura would move on with someone else given the premise that she still hadn't gotten herself involved with someone for the past years that Sasuke had been away from Konoha?"

"You're saying they're freaking meant to be?" Kiba said, snickering. "You're worse than Uchiha."

Shikamaru sighed. "Troublesome," he said.

Naruto looked optimistically up at Neji. "So you'll help me convince him to stop being an idiot?"

"I don't remember saying such thing," Neji answered.

Naruto frowned. "But you said—"

"Hey," Chouji said, remembering something he had been meaning to ask. "I know we should be thankful and all but, did any of you notice the elders doing anything to stop Sakura-chan earlier?"

Houren chuckled as Naruto and the others glanced and shrugged at each other.

"You're right," Houren said. "They just stood in the room, but for a good reason."

"And that reason is?" Kiba asked.

Houren's cheerful face was replaced by a solemn one. "The last time they interfered with Sakura's suicide attempt, they almost killed her," he said. "They had to put her in a coma for a month to help her recover."

Naruto and the others looked surprised at Houren.

"You know how powerful they can be," Houren began. "They haven't really dealt with humans before so they still need practice in controlling their strength.

"When you said earlier that you were going to kill Sakura," Neji said.

"I meant that I wouldn't be able to hold myself much longer," Houren said. "If I created another layer of frost to cage her, I would end up killing her."

"I see you all look better," said Keiko as she walked into the room. She looked tired, but she didn't seem like she just broke a few ribs after being thrown against a stone wall.

"Keiko-chan!" Naruto greeted.

Houren turned to look at his granddaughter. "You have news?"

"I do," she said. "We have a bit of a problem."

"Are you talking about Sakura-chan?" Naruto anxiously asked.

Keiko looked at him and sighed. "I have good news and bad news."

"Good news first," Houren said, smiling at his granddaughter.

"Good news is a lot of Oneesan's wounds and injuries are healed," Keiko began. "Also, they've found a way to paralyze her, without putting her into a coma."

"Induced Sleep Paralysis," Houren said.

"Yes," Keiko replied. "The bad news is the elders can't put a barrier in her mind again."

"What do you mean?" Neji asked.

"We're not sure what happened yet," Keiko said, looking at Neji. "But Ojiisan couldn't hide her memories of Konoha or her memories of what happened earlier back in the recesses of her mind."

"Which Ojiisan?" Kiba asked.

Naruto, Chouji, Keiko, and Neji glared at Kiba.

"What..? There are four elders!" Kiba defended.

Keiko rolled her eyes. "Fine," she said. "'The elders' couldn't hide her memories of Konoha or her memories of what happened earlier back in the recesses of her mind.'"

Houren looked grimly at the floor and folded his arms over his chest. "Continue," he said.

"It seemed like her memories of the temple and the memories we've kept away merged while we were treating her wounds," Keiko said. "Her thoughts are jumbled up and her consciousness seems to be focused on the memory with the most impact."

"The false memory," Houren said, sighing.

Keiko nodded.

"Can we try to convince her that the memory is fake?" Naruto asked.

"We've tried that before," Keiko answered. "Well, you saw what happened."

"Maybe it will be different now that we're here," Kiba said.

"I hope you're right," Keiko said. "We need her to see sense soon. We can't keep her paralyzed for more than three weeks."

"Okay, I'm lost," Chouji said, frowning.

"Sleep paralysis is the inability to move while sleeping or when waking up," Houren said. "The Induced Sleep Paralysis technique done to Sakura means that she is currently awake – she just won't be able to control her body. It's like Shikamaru-kun's Shadow Bind technique. It just keeps a target in bed. So she won't be able to kill herself or hurt anyone, even if she dared."

"Shikamaru-kun," Kiba whispered, snickering.

"Shikamaru's fine," Shikamaru told Houren.

Houren smiled innocently back at him.

"So she's paralyzed from the neck down?" Chouji asked.

"No," Houren answered. "The technique diminishes the ability to control voluntary muscle movements, unless we've decided that she can have control over the movement."

"The only voluntary movements she's currently allowed to do is blinking her eyelids and moving her eyes so we can monitor what's going on in her mind," Keiko added. "If she stays paralyzed for more than three weeks her body and nerves will be disoriented. She won't be able to move her limbs even after we've lifted the paralysis."

"What should we do?" Neji asked.

"One thing you can do is get the relic that could possibly help us make Sakura sort through her memories," Houren answered.

"So we need to hunt Oda down," Kiba said.

"We'll be saving Konoha in the process too," Chouji said.

"How is Sasuke?" Naruto asked Keiko.

"That 'Hn' is being annoying again," Keiko answered, frowning at Naruto. "He thinks everything is about him. Do you already know that he's requested for permanent residency here?"

"Yeah," Kiba said. "Your grandpa here told us."

"Oi," Houren said, smiling wickedly at Kiba. "I'm not a 'grandpa.' I look **nothing **like a grandpa."

Kiba winced and looked away, cringing. "We'll she's your granddaughter, isn't she?"

Naruto sighed. He moved his legs to the edge of the bed, causing his bruised insides to protest. He cursed as the pain spread throughout his abdomen.

"Don't worry," Keiko said, looking at Naruto. "Sasuke's not leaving without you guys. The plan is still the plan."

"How long should we stay here?" Shikamaru asked, looking at Keiko.

"Your bruises should be better by tomorrow morning," she answered. "We've used the most potent healing elixir for your injuries."

"Can you tell, Teme to stop thinking about his self for once?" Naruto asked, looking at Keiko. "He's starting to get on my nerves!"

"Is leaving Sakura still a self-centered decision?" Kiba asked. "He's just considering her well-being."

"You're being self-centered right now," Chouji said, frowning at him.

"THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT!"

Keiko smirked. "I'll tell him that now," she said, turning around and heading out to the hall. She closed the door behind her and glanced at the man standing on the hallway. He stood against the wall adjacent to room where Naruto and the others stayed.

"You heard that?" she asked, looking at Sasuke's bowed head. "Even Naruto says you're not considering Oneesan in your decision."

Sasuke scowled and looked at Keiko. "And letting her relive the memory – forcing her to kill herself – is considering Sakura's well being?" he snapped.

"No," Keiko said. "But focusing on getting whatever would help her sort through her memories **is**." She then walked away from him.

Sasuke sighed and shook his head.

Kiba was right. He had done nothing but hurt Sakura since he met her, and he will do nothing but that if he stayed with her. They weren't supposed to be together – him and Sakura – not even as friends.


	11. Chapter 11

_It's late, I know. My sincere apologies... _

* * *

"Are you sure this is the village in the map?" asked a burly man, scrunching his nose at the sight of the village up ahead.

He and his group had been on the road for three weeks, trying to avoid the ninjas that were rumoured to be hunting them. They've kept themselves hidden in the forest for the past two days to hide their tracks.

"Yes," answered a thin man standing proudly beside him. "Are you saying that after all this time, you still don't believe that I can read maps?" he asked, frowning and clearly insulted at the question.

"That's not what I mean," the burly man asked.

"He means there's something awfully wrong with the village," said a shadow walked toward them.

The men turned to look at him – the dim light of their lamps exposing the man's grey eyes, the only part of his face that wasn't covered with grey cloth.

"Boss," the two of them greeted, bowing to him.

"There's a faint scent," the boss said, ignoring the respects the two men gave and keeping his eyes on the village.

"Scent of what?" the thin man asked, curious and confused.

"Chakra," the boss answered. "…Developed ones."

The burly man grunted. "Ninjas," he hissed. "Do we move to the next village?"

"No," the boss said, his eyes slightly narrowing as if he was smiling widely underneath his mask. "Let's show them what kind of trouble they're in. They've prepared this much after all. They deserve to be rewarded for their efforts."

A menacing smile flashed in the thin man's face. "How shall we meet them, boss?"

"With warm smiles and open arms," the boss said. He then looked down at the shadows. "You heard all of that, didn't you, little mouse?"

The burly man and the thin man looked down at the shadow, surprised that something was there.

"Go do your job," the boss said, sharply eyeing the supposed mouse lurking in the shadows.

Something moved in the darkness – in the patch of grass a few steps away from them. And sure enough, in the dim light the thin man and the burly man saw a shadow of a mouse running away from them.

The boss chuckled. "Prepare the hounds," he said.

The mouse swiftly ran through the thin patches of grass in the darkness… Hastily sneaked into the village walls… Quickly navigated through the village streets… Sprinted to a house and leaped into the air the minute he reached the room where his master was.

Sai caught the mouse with an open white scroll. To his surprise, the mouse exploded into the paper, forming images of two people conversing – one massive and bald, another lanky and old. The words, uttered with live voices, echoed in the room. Then the ink formed the face of their target – his voice filling the room. The ink on the paper swirled to form only one face – the face of their target, grinning menacingly at them.

"Hello there, Konoha ninjas," it said. "Only four of you..? How unfortunate! Then again, they would pay a great price for each of you, especially for someone who wields a Sharingan."

Sai cursed and quickly threw the burning oil lamp on the nearest table on the scroll, charring it to ashes.

Kakashi, standing behind Sai the whole time, looked grimly at the ashes.

"How did they know?" Lee asked, standing by the door of the room. "We all hid our chakra!"

"They messed up my Chōjū Giga," Sai apathetically said, staring at the pile of ashes on the floor.

"What's that smell?" Ino asked, walking into the room and scrunching her nose. "You burned something?"

"They know we're here," Kakashi said. "They probably also have an idea on what we're planning to do."

Ino froze. "H-How?! What should we do?"

"We face them head on," Kakashi answered. "We'll go with the plan."

Lee confidently nodded. "I'll be in my position then," he said before running out of the room.

"I'm going back to Hinata," Ino said, following Lee.

"Are we against someone with a relic?" Sai asked Kakashi.

"No," Kakashi said. "More like someone with an imitation of a relic. Start drawing." He then walked out of the room.

Sai spread out a massive blank scroll and pulled out a giant brush.

He felt the tension in the breeze. And from the window, Sai saw a group of lights slowly moving toward them – crossing the darkness like a soft sea tide creeping up the shore. The lights slowly stretched out in the distance, growing like a wave.

Sai sharply eyed the lights, trying to see how many enemies were coming their way. Fifty..? A hundred… Two-hundred— Five hundred..?

"Two hundred for each of us," Sai muttered. "…Maybe more."

* * *

Lee looked grimly at the glowing horizon. He stood in the gate to the village, with the men willing to defend their homes ready to fight behind him.

He could feel a suffocating tension in the air – an unsettling feeling that seemed to make his bones cringe.

The lights revealed their bearers as they approached the village – men with drapes of muddy cloaks as clothes. Only the lower half of their faces was exposed. In front of them was the Konoha ninjas' target. He was flanked by the burly man and the thin man in Sai's scroll.

"Good evening," their target greeted. "We are here to get our merchandise."

"If you're talking about taking the villagers," Lee said, gracefully changing his stance. "Forget it!"

The leader of the group burst into laughter. "Villagers?" he asked. "Whoever said we were here for the villagers?"

Lee raised a brow at them, confused at what he said.

"We're here for the four Konoha ninjas," the leader said. "You have no idea how expensive Konoha ninjas are in our trade. Each one of you will give us a fortune!"

The lights exploded before Lee could figure out what was going on. The explosion filled everything with a blinding white light. Screams filled Lee's ears. He winced and tried to shield his eyes from the light. Then he felt something cold grip his limbs tightly.

"You picked the wrong raiders," Lee heard someone hiss against his right ear. He felt something thin flick on his cheek.

A snake's tongue…?

The cold grip tightened. Lee suddenly felt the scales on whatever was holding him in place.

"I don't think so," Lee heard Kakashi's voice echo from behind him, before a shrieking sound exploded from behind him and sparks of electricity swiftly danced in the air.

The grip on Lee's legs loosened. He hastily kicked his way out, hurling blows at whoever was behind him and keeping him in place. It was still too bright so he could barely see who or what he was hitting, but he was able to step away from where he was. That had to be a good sign, right?

The light dimmed and Lee opened his eyes. He found a trembling creature on the ground. It had the shape of a human being with four limbs – just extra long limbs that looked more like tentacles. Its body also had the hue and scales of a snake, and its head resembled a cobra's head.

"Behind you!" Kakashi yelled.

Lee quickly hurled a kick behind him, hurling a limping man away. He froze when his mind began to process the image of the enemies behind him.

They were humans with astoundingly empty bellies and extremely thin limbs. Half of their head was severed, leaving only the lower part of their face – a nose, a pair of hollow cheeks and chapped purple lips.

They groaned and shrieked like mindless walking corpses. One of them stretched his mouth open, wanting to bite Lee's shoulder. Lee quickly kicked it away, deciding it was no time for him to be squeamish.

He had seen worse… right?

Kakashi slashed one of the mindless creatures in half. He glanced at Lee and saw that he was on a rampage.

Lee had recovered.

Kakashi hurled a massive chidori on a group of creatures approaching them. It caused an explosion in the enemy ranks, charring a large chunk of its army.

He slashed another creature with his kunai, and saw Sai's clones fighting some of the creatures away.

There was no sign of the male villagers who insisted to protect their homes on their own. Hopefully, Ino had taken them to safety before the creatures attacked.

Just when he was feeling confident that they had it all in control, Kakashi saw a creature in the distance devouring a struggling villager. Kakashi quickly charged into the sea of creatures, slashing and kicking them away. But the creatures had become too quick and too strong to be hurled away. They attacked Kakashi like a pack cornering a prey. He felt one of the creatures bite his shoulder, bite his leg, grip his arm—

He saw the legs of the villager disappear into the creature's enormous mouth. Once it devoured the victim, it hunched down and began to dig.

Kakashi cursed.

The creatures weren't eating people. They were kidnapping them – trapping them in their hollow stomachs and escaping the scene by digging underground tunnels. And if Kakashi and his team didn't finish the army of monsters anytime soon, they would be sold as sacrifices like the raiders' victims.

He heard a loud laughter echo from behind him.

"And here I thought you'll be a challenge!" he heard someone yell out from a distance. Kakashi looked up and saw their target, sitting on an invisible chair up a roof.

* * *

Naruto sat frowning on the dinner table.

The next morning, just as Keiko said, all of them – Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba, Neji, Shino and Naruto – were allowed to start walking around and therefore, were allowed to eat breakfast in the dining hall. Houren, Kaitaro, Sasuke and Keiko joined them.

The table remained silent, except for the munching noise Chouji was making with the saucy pork skewers.

Naruto glanced at Sasuke, who was sitting and eating quietly beside him. He acted as apathetic as he usually did. And Naruto hated it.

Naruto glared at his stack of empty ramen bowls for a moment before he stood up. "I'm visiting Sakura-chan," he said. He glanced at Sasuke. "Are you coming with me?"

"No," Sasuke answered, keeping his eyes on his food.

They hadn't spoken to Sasuke since the Sakura went mad. When they saw him that morning, he didn't even want to talk about what happened. Naruto tried to convince Sasuke to change his mind about staying in the temple for good. He also told him about his plan of saving Sakura using the missing relics. But Sasuke just shrugged him off saying he didn't give a damn about a weakling like Sakura.

Naruto scowled.

Shikamaru looked up, glancing at Naruto and Sasuke, waiting for something interesting to happen. The others in the table looked at the two as well, most of them worried about what was going to happen next. Houren was the only one in the group who clearly looked excited at the scene. It was as if he was watching his favorite scene in a movie unfold.

Naruto glared at Sasuke. "Why not?"

Sasuke remained silent.

Keiko looked curiously at him. Chouji stopped eating. He anxiously watched Sasuke and swallowed. Kiba and Akamaru looked ready to jump between Sasuke and Naruto. Naruto kept his stern eyes at Sasuke, telling him his silence wouldn't be enough for him.

"Hn." Sasuke said, shattering the silence in the table.

Shikamaru, Houren, Kaitaro, Keiko, Chouji, Kiba, Akamaru, Shino and Neji lifted their gaze from Sasuke and placed it on Naruto. Naruto's face, for the first time in a long time, looked… unreadable.

Another moment of tensed silence loomed in the table. Everyone, including Sasuke, was expecting Naruto to crack – hit someone with jet black hair and go berserk for the next five minutes or so.

But to their surprise, Naruto turned away. He walked quietly to the hall as if nothing happened.

Sasuke put his chopsticks down and closed his eyes.

Just as everyone was relaxing their shoulders, Sasuke slammed on the floor – his face bouncing on the marble tiles several times before his body skidded to a stop. His chair was in pieces.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, muttering "troublesome." Kiba, Chouji and Akamaru gaped at the scene. Shino and Neji raised their brows.

Keiko bit her lips from laughing. Kaitaro gasped – shocked at what happened. Houren smirked.

"U—Uchiha-san," Kaitaro anxiously asked, still too shocked to stand up from his seat and check Sasuke's state on the floor. "Are you alright?" He somehow had a feeling that the commotion was just beginning.

And it was – Naruto crashed on a nearby wall. Sasuke was on his feet in seconds, his fist clenched tightly. He walked to Naruto, daring him to get back on his feet and hit him back.

Naruto did. Sasuke spit blood on the polished marble floor the moment Naruto's fist slammed his jaw bone.

"Tsk," Keiko said, frowning. "I'll have to mop that again," she hissed.

Before Sasuke could hurl a punch, Naruto threw his angered fist on the other side of Sasuke's face yelling "You stupid ingrate!"

Sasuke kicked Naruto's torso – causing him to spit blood on the floor. "SHUT UP! YOU KNOW **NOTHING**!"

"**YOU** SHUT UP!" Naruto yelled, hurling his fists at Sasuke's face. Sasuke caught his fist in one hand, and hurled him across the room. Naruto caught himself from hitting the wall though, and he attacked Sasuke again, hitting him in the torso. "YOU SELFISH GOOD-FOR-NOTHING—"

Sasuke grabbed Naruto's arm and threw him on the floor. He punched Naruto's face several times before Naruto finally punched him on the cheek – throwing him on the floor beside him. Naruto quickly got up and started punching Sasuke's face. Sasuke gripped Naruto's throat.

"Sh—Shouldn't we stop them?" Chouji asked Shikamaru.

"Be my guest," Shikamaru muttered.

Chouji frowned and looked at Naruto and Sasuke, who were bloody and rolling on the floor. He cringed and looked at Kiba.

"Don't look at me!" Kiba said, folding his arms over his chest. "Can you see the look in their eyes? They're on a thirst for blood. They'll kill Akamaru and me if we even dared to interfere!"

Chouji sighed. He glanced at Shino.

"This is interesting," Shino said.

Neji smirked. "I have to admit it's nice to see them both being beaten to death," he said.

Chouji frowned. "What kind of friends are you?"

"The best ones!" Houren cheered, smiling at Chouji.

"Oi," Shikamaru said, looking at Houren, just as Naruto crashed on the wall behind him. "Your dining hall will be history after this."

"That's alright," Houren said, chuckling. Sasuke crashed on the floor. "I was planning on making a major renovation for the dining hall anyway."

Kaitaro looked anxiously at Houren. "They're breaking each other's bones," he said. "Shouldn't we stop them now?"

Houren smiled at Kaitaro. "Relax," he said. "They're grown ups. They know what they're doing. Besides, Sasuke needs his skull cracked. I've been telling you how much he needs to be lobotomized, haven't I?"

Kaitaro frowned. "This isn't a laughing matter," he said. "And Uchiha-san isn't clinically insane!"

"YES HE IS!" Naruto shouted before Sasuke kicked his face.

"SHUT UP!" Sasuke yelled back before Naruto kicked him back.

Houren laughed. "They are so cute!"

Naruto and Sasuke punched each other's cheek, spilling more blood on the floor.

"I believe breakfast is over," Keiko said, standing up from her seat. "Is there anyone here who still wants to eat?"

No one answered.

"Let's all go then," Keiko said. "Their blood is starting to stink."

Everyone in the table stood up and walked gingerly to the hall. When Shino, the last one to get out of the room, reached the hall, Sasuke crashed on the table – shattering the glassware. He then grabbed a chair and hurled it to Naruto, who was about to punch him on the face.

"What's going on here?" Hokuryu's voice echoed in the hall.

Everyone looked at them, except for Naruto and Sasuke of course, who was still busy breaking the walls with their fists.

Apparently, the elders were on their way to the dining hall.

Houren smiled cheerfully at Hokuryu. "Naruto and Sasuke are exhibiting their brotherly love," he said. "Shall we check if everything they need for their trip back to Konoha is ready?"

Hokuryu grunted. "We might as well stay away from the dining hall."

The group began to walk away from the hall – Hokuryu leading them all into another part of the temple.

* * *

Sasuke crashed into the cracked wall – blood and sweat dripping down his forehead. He hunched forward and coughed, staining the floor with more blood.

"Sakura-chan risked her life for you," Naruto hissed, standing in front of him with his bleeding fists clenched tightly. "Heck! She gave you her life! And this is how you repay her?! By saying she's just trash to you?!"

"**I DIDN'T ASK FOR HER LIFE!**" Sasuke shouted.

"Yeah? WELL YOU SHOULD HAVE AT LEAST FELT GRATEFUL, BECAUSE WITHOUT HER LIFE YOU'RE AS GOOD AS ORGANIC FERTILIZER!"

"SHE SHOULD'VE JUST LET ME ROT LIKE ONE!" Sasuke said, shutting his eyes. "It was stupid of her to even think keeping me alive was the right thing to do!"

"AND LEAVING HER FOR GOOD IS THE SMARTEST THING TO DO NOW?!" Naruto asked. "I may not be that smart, but I do know that the smartest thing to do now isn't to leave her alone, but to **kill **her!"

Sasuke froze. He opened his eyes and stared at the wood, and glassware debris on the floor.

"You want to relieve her of her pain? KILL HER! STOP HER FROM FEELING ANYTHING AT ALL!" Naruto shouted.

Sasuke swallowed. The thought of killing her had crossed his mind but— Naruto was right. If he wanted to stop hurting her, the best thing to do was stop her from feeling anything at all! Take her life! End her suffering!

Naruto watched emotions flash on Sasuke's face – none of them proof that Sasuke was satisfied at his proposition.

Naruto turned away. "The only one you're saving in your decision is yourself," he said. "You're putting yourself on exile, convincing everyone that you're sacrificing your happiness for hers, but that fact is you're just going to protect yourself from feeling hurt whenever she's hurt. You're running away from her so you won't see her suffer – so you won't suffer in watching her pain! You're an **ungrateful bastard**! I don't even know why she chose to love **you**. You're selfish! You pretend to be unselfish when you're really just protecting yourself! You tell everyone you're saving your clan when the fact is, you're just saving yourself from the guilt you've been feeling all your life!"

Sasuke spat blood on the floor.

Naruto walked to the hallway.

"Where are you going?" Sasuke asked, forcing his body to stand up.

"I'm going to Sakura," Naruto answered. "I'm going to do what you were too much of a **coward** to do."

Sasuke smirked. "You won't do that," he said. "No, wait—You **can't** do that."

"Try me," Naruto said, glancing at Sasuke with his burning demon fox eyes.

Sasuke froze. He felt the demon fox's chakra smolder in the air.

Naruto turned away, unclenching his fists to reveal the deadly tips of his long fingernails.

Sasuke's lungs stopped moving. His eyes watched Naruto walk out the hall.

Naruto won't do it. He cared about Sakura. He wouldn't do it. Naruto would find a way to save her without killing her. He won't do it! Naruto was just trying to mess with him. HE WON'T DO IT!

Naruto walked away, clenching and unclenching his fists as if anticipating a kill.

The next thing Naruto felt was a burning sensation on his back, followed by the echoing shrieks of electricity. He fell down on the floor and found himself being choked to death by Sasuke.

"You're **dead**," he hissed – his Eternal Sharingan spinning with contempt.

Naruto struggled to free himself. He tried to kick Sasuke away, but he was too amused to exert enough force to push him. He choked out a chuckle instead.

Sasuke stared puzzled at Naruto. He slowly loosened his hold.

When Naruto's wind pipes were free enough to take in some air, he began to laugh.

Sasuke glared at Naruto, still confused on what was going on.

Naruto sat up, coughing out blood on the floor. "Damn, Teme," he said. "You really thought I'll kill her?"

Sasuke froze.

Naruto frowned at him. "You should know me better than that," he said.

Sasuke clenched his trembling fists.

Naruto laughed. "This whole situation messed you up **real** good!"

Sasuke closed his eyes, took several deep breaths, and quickly slammed his fist on Naruto's head. "**DOBE!**" he hissed.

"OUCH!" Naruto said, rubbing the bruise on his head. "WHAT THE HELL, TEME!"

Sasuke glared at him with his dark eyes. He knew his cheeks were flushed. Hopefully the swelling bruise on his face was hiding it.

Naruto stared at Sasuke for a moment before he burst into laughter again. "Tell me something," he said. "Why didn't you kill her when you had the chance?"

Sasuke looked away.

Naruto sighed and stood up. "Everyone in Konoha says you're smarter than me," he said. "But I don't believe that."

Sasuke looked up at Naruto.

"It's as clear as day, and yet here you are," Naruto said. "…Acting all stupid and thick..."

Sasuke stood up.

Naruto smirked at him. "Heck! I didn't need Sakura-chan's life to be threatened to realize I was in love with her," he said. "And you needed— how many times have you seen a threat to Sakura-chan's life again? And yet here you are, still confused as hell!"

Sasuke glared at Naruto.

"You need her," Naruto said. "…Just as much as she needs you. She's not trying to kill herself to get away from you, Teme! She's been trying to kill herself to make you happy! Are you really going to be happy if she succeeded?"

Sasuke looked down at his blood stained kimono. He would have to burn it.

Naruto tapped Sasuke's forehead. "You're running away again," he said. "You're such a coward."

"Shut up!" Sasuke snapped. "It took you how many years to realize you liked that Hyuuga girl!"

"Fair enough," Naruto said, nodding. "But it still didn't take longer than yours."

"Hn," Sasuke grunted, looking at the dining hall they just demolished. It looked more like an old warehouse of scrap than a dining room.

Naruto smiled. "Look," he said. "You know what the right decision here is. You didn't really need me to point that out to you."

Sasuke stared at the remains of the wooden table. They wasted all that food, without even thinking if everyone was done with their breakfast.

"She needs you," Naruto said. "She's doing all this for you. And you're just going to leave her alone?"

Sasuke remained silent. The two of them stood quietly in the hall for a moment.

Naruto stretched his arms up. "OUCH!" he said, failing to stretch his left arm up. "I think I dislocated my arm."

Sasuke took Naruto's arm and gave it a quick hard pull. It was followed by a loud cracking sound, and a deafening curse from Naruto.

"THAT HURT!" Naruto hissed, glaring at Sasuke.

"It's fixed," he said.

Naruto sighed. He tried to move his left arm and realized that Sasuke was right. "You could have at least given me a warning!"

"Hn," Sasuke muttered, walking back to the dining hall.

Naruto chuckled. "I'm really going to visit Sakura-chan before we head back to Konoha," he said. "Go see her too." He then walked away, sighing and muttering curses on the burn wounds on his back.

Sasuke took a deep breath and sighed.

He didn't need Naruto to tell him what the right thing to do was.

Sasuke smirked and scratched his head. "Stupid Dobe," he muttered.

* * *

Naruto slowly pushed the door open.

Houren and Keiko insisted that they treated his wounds first before he paid Sakura a visit. Since he also didn't want to freak Sakura out with all the blood on his face, he agreed. So after half an hour of being treated and cleaned, there he was in front of Sakura's room – gingerly pushing the door open to see her.

They said her paralysis left her staring out into nowhere. She was conscious. She would hear and feel, and see… But she would only be able to move her eyes.

Naruto walked in to see Sakura on the bed – shackled by an invisible force to keep her safe from herself. Her green blank eyes were fixed at the window giving her a view of the blue sky outside.

He walked closer to her, taking a seat on the chair next to her bed.

"Hey," he said. "Sakura-chan. You remember me?"

Sakura's green eyes moved slightly, but it didn't look at him.

Naruto scratched his head. "That's a nice blue sky out there, huh? It's a sunny day."

Sakura didn't respond. Her eyes didn't even twitch.

Naruto sighed. "I'm sorry," he said. "We're just trying to protect you. We all know why you're doing this. And we understand. But things… aren't what you think they are. Trust me. Yes, I tried to kill Teme but that was in the ninja war. He got back to Konoha as a changed man – someone close to the Sasuke we all knew when we were Genin. I know it's hard for you to believe what I'm telling you but… You know me and Teme. We try to kill each other, but none of us dies. He almost did back in the war, but you saved him and he's very grateful for the life you gave him. It's true! And now he's willing to give up his shinobi-hood to keep you safe."

Sakura remained silent.

Naruto looked at the ceiling, thinking of how he would make her believe him. "Do you remember those times you spent with him? …Back in your mission with Dr. Kaitaro? Houren told us about it. It's been one hell of a mission. Remember that time when he confronted you about what you did to help him? We didn't really know what happened there, but I bet he acted furious. He's always been a jerk. Did he tell you he'll kill you?"

Sakura's eyes saddened. Naruto smiled sadly at him.

"Did he kill you though?" Naruto then chuckled. "Teme's always been like that – throwing empty threats at anyone he's trying to run away from. He didn't really mean it though. I mean if he really wanted you dead, he would have done so by now!"

Sakura's eyes glistened in the morning light - sadness peeking through her gaze.

Naruto took a deep breath. "He told you he would leave you because he wants you to suffer a horrible death? Is that what he said, Sakura-chan?"

A tear slid down from Sakura's right eye.

Naruto gently wiped it away with his thumb. "Sakura-chan," he said. "It's alright. It wasn't your fault. Teme was just being Teme. So he said that, but did he really mean it? Do you know why you're here? How you ended up in this place? Teme came back for you! He didn't go to Konoha after he told you those things. He realized his faults and went back to get you home! He **saved** you, Sakura-chan. He didn't let you burn in a pyre. And he didn't let you die from that illness you had. That's why you're here! That's why I can talk to you right now. He begged Houren to save you and in exchange, Teme worked for Houren. Did you ever imagine Teme letting someone order him around? Crazy, right? But he really did it!"

Sakura's eyes showed a hint of confusion.

Naruto smiled. "Sakura-chan, you're the smartest and the strongest girl I know," he said. "You can figure this out. Maybe you've already seen it. You just didn't think it's possible. But it **is**! I saw it. Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba, Neji, Shino and I saw it. I bet Baa-chan and Kakashi-sensei already saw it too! Teme cares about you. He wouldn't want you to die."

Sakura kept her eyes on the window.

Naruto sighed. He sat down on the bed and held her hand. "I'll prove it to you. There's a way, you know? There's a way for you to see the truth. We'll get the relic that will help you see through these memories you have. Teme and I will get it for you. Do you know why?" Naruto smiled. "…Because you're important to us. You're family, and we want you to go back to Konoha with us."

Naruto saw a hint of puzzlement in Sakura's eyes. He chuckled. "Just trust me," he said. "Trust **us**. Trust me and Teme. We'll help you. We won't stop until you've seen the truth. We'll get you out of here soon. Just wait for us, okay?"

He gave Sakura's hand a light squeeze before he got up and walked to the door.

After the door clicked shut, Sakura closed her eyes. Memories flooded her thoughts – memories she couldn't seem to understand.

Sasuke wanting nothing but seeing her dead… Sasuke looking excitedly at her… Sasuke avoiding her… Sasuke asking her to kill herself… Sasuke kissing her forehead... Sasuke trying to strangle her… Sasuke crying—begging for something to stop…

Sasuke wanted her dead! He **begged **her to kill herself! The other memories were false—fake!

What made her think twice about them though was what Naruto said – _Trust me_. In all the memories rushing through her thoughts, one thing was sure. Naruto could be trusted. She could believe whatever he said.

But then that would mean— No. It's just not possible.

* * *

Sasuke gently pushed the door, careful not to make its hinges make even the slightest creak. He peeped into the room.

"Just go in already," he heard Keiko say.

He frowned and looked at the girl suddenly standing beside him in the hallway.

Keiko looked up at him with the annoyed look she always wore when reprimanding him. "It's about time **you** talk to her."

"I was looking for Dobe," Sasuke said. He really was. They were leaving in a few minutes after all.

"Uhuh," Keiko said, turning away. "Sure, whatever. You have three minutes. Use it wisely." She then walked away.

Sasuke glared at Keiko. Three minutes…

He looked into the room again. Sakura was sleeping. Perhaps…

Sakura heard the door creak open – another visitor. She listened to the footsteps echoing closer toward her bed. She didn't open her eyes, too afraid to see who it was. She was already too confused about everything, thanks to Naruto. She didn't need another visitor who would make her bewilderment worse.

"Hey," Sasuke's voice echoed softly in her ears.

Sasuke kept his eyes on her hand. "I… I don't know," he muttered. "Maybe I shouldn't be here."

Sakura wanted to talk to him – tell him everything was fine. She wanted to tell him that he shouldn't worry… Tell him she knew what he wanted her to do, and that she won't fail him! …Tell him she would figure out a way to make up for all the things she had done to him soon. She would get out of her shackles and do what she needed to do!

"I don't want you to die," Sasuke whispered – his voice strained, as if… As if it was true.

Sakura froze.

Sasuke looked at her face. "I thought I did," he said. "I told myself I did. But the fact is... I don't. So…" Sasuke took a deep breath and sighed. "I'm leaving. Naruto probably already told you about what we're going to do. When we come back, everything will be better. I promise. I won't stop until you're better. Just wait."

Sakura didn't know what to do. Should she open her eyes to see if it was really Sasuke?

Sasuke looked longingly at her face. "I'd really like to see your eyes again, before I leave," he whispered.

Sakura kept her eyes shut. She was dreaming. She fell asleep somewhere along the way of analyzing Naruto's words.

It wasn't real.

Sasuke smiled sadly and nodded to himself. He slowly leaned down and lightly kissed her forehead. He then turned around and walked away.

The door creaked shut.

Tears streamed down from Sakura's closed eyes. It was a sad but beautiful dream.

* * *

Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba, Akamaru, Shino, and Neji stood inside a circle formed by a group of white round stones on the ground.

They were in one of the gardens with the elders, Houren, Keiko and Dr. Kaitaro. Each of the Konoha ninjas wore their usual clothing. Sasuke either had the temple attendants sew personalized garments for each of them, or he sneaked into the hotel the group was supposed to be in for their mission and stole some of their clothes – none of the Konoha ninjas knew which of the two possible events happened. But they were grateful that they were again wearing their own set of clothes.

"So this is supposed to work like Sasuke's black cloak," Kiba said, looking at the white circle. "Why can't we just use the black cloak again?"

"Now you see how boring the elders are," Houren said, smiling at Kiba.

Hokuryu rolled his eyes. "This is easier to navigate," he said. "You can't go back to where Sasuke got you. It won't be safe."

Kiba laughed. "First of all, we're ninjas. We can fend for ourselves. Second, we still have things in the hotel."

"You can go back there after you reach your supposed destination for today," Hokuryu said.

"Where's Sasuke?" Chouji asked, looking around.

"Here," Sasuke answered, walking quickly toward the group. He was wearing the black kimono he wore when Naruto and the others met him in the underground tunnel.

"That's really your uniform, huh," Kiba said, eyeing the red pattern on Sasuke's clothing. "It's way better than your other kimono resembling Orochimaru's. It's less... gay."

Naruto and Chouji snickered. Shikamaru smirked. Sasuke ignored the comment.

"I just got word that we're needed," Sasuke said, stepping inside the circle. "Make sure you're ready to fight."

"HA! Akamaru and I are always ready!" Kiba said proudly. Akamaru barked in agreement.

Sasuke ignored it again and knelt on the ground. He bit his thumb and let a couple of drops of his blood stain the moist soil.

"Wait!" Naruto said. "Have you talked to Sakura-chan?"

Sasuke didn't answer. He instead made several hand seals.

Shikamaru watched the slight blush form on Sasuke's cheeks and smirked. "Where to?"

Sasuke slammed his hands on the soil. A surge of electricity crept to the white stones surrounding them. "…Your girlfriend."

A blinding light exploded in the garden. When it faded, the white circle was empty.

"I'm betting a miracle is going to happen," Houren said.

"No one's betting against you," Hokuryu said, leading his fellow elders out of the garden.

Houren frowned at the elders.

Kaitaro chuckled. "You should be proud of yourself," he said. "That means they don't think they'll win against you."

"I would appreciate it more if they just said it straight to my face," Houren muttered.

Keiko chuckled. "And boost your incredibly huge ego? Not a chance!"

Houren sighed.

* * *

Kakashi closed his eyes.

A bright light suddenly burst into the battlefield, just as he was freeing himself from the group of creatures trying to devour him. He was planning to fire another Chidori when the explosion occurred.

Shrieks echoed around him.

The creatures must have been severed by the explosion. But who could have caused the blast? Perhaps Sai threw some explosive tags. But the explosion carried a hint of chakra that didn't seem to be from Sai or from anyone in Kakashi's current team.

"I leaked classified information to you and you end up trying to catch **my** target," Kakashi heard a familiar voice echo in front of him. He opened his eyes and smirked.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE THESE?!" Naruto yelled as he kicked and slashed the creatures attacking him.

"These are much more hideous than my girlfriend, Uchiha," Shikamaru muttered, battling his own set of enemies.

Neji, Shino, Chouji and Kiba were already busy cutting the zombie regiment in half.

"Welcome back," Kakashi greeted.


	12. Chapter 12

_Hey! _^ v ^

_Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing '"Reconnaisance." I know I haven't been able to update on time lately, and I'm terribly sorry about that. _

_"I still can't Imagine Sasuke with long hair though... I keep seeing Itachi :/" - LOL _^ v ^ _Point taken_ **Meepyonnee**._ Well they're brothers so they might look a like with long hair._

_Aww... :'( That was heart-wrenching,_ **whizzbangangel_._ **_As for the length, I measure my update length by checking the word count. I have to admit Chapter 11 is 889 words shorter than Chapter 10. But my update length mark for chapters I get to upload every 2 weeks is at least 5k words. _* v * _I'll try to write longer updates next time. I'm really just busy at the moment. _

_Yeah, Naruto exploded in that last chapter. HAHAHA! _**angrypixels**

_LOL _^ v ^ _Thanks, _**Noura**!

_Anyway, here's the next chapter _* v * _Do tell me what you think about it. _

* * *

"NEJI! WELCOME BACK!" Lee excitedly shouted, kicking a group of zombies away from him.

"Really?" Kiba asked, slashing a walking corpse in half. "You're going to do that now?"

Neji was busy taking care of his own set of opponents using his Eight Trigrams Vacuum Wall Palm. He noticed how easily his blows sliced through their enemy's flesh – how easy one of them could be defeated.

He spotted Shino and noticed how his insects attacked the enemy. It took only a few seconds for Shino's insects to turn the creatures into dust.

The zombies were dummies that seemed to be mobilized by minute amounts of chakra.

Neji cursed.

"THEY'RE WEARING US DOWN!" he yelled. "DON'T—"

Chouji was already rolling on the ground, toppling a horde of mindless creatures like bowling pins. Kiba and Akamaru already fused together, producing a giant, double-headed white wolf. It proved to be helpful though, as it crashed and hurled a whole battalion of zombies away with a wag of its massive tail.

The wolf glanced at Neji as the group relished the chance to take a quick break. Another wave of hobbling creatures was heading their way.

Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi stood behind the group with what remained of Sai's clones, observing the group of zombies walking toward the group from other directions – caging them. The target, the leader of the raiders, had disappeared leaving only his mindless soldiers in the field.

Chouji went back to his normal size and knelt down, huffing heavily from his Human Bullet Tank attack. Shikamaru stood beside him, huffing and observing the hobbling zombies. They moved slowly… _teasingly _as if they wanted the group to be somewhat rejuvenated before they continued their bout.

"We have to take it easy," Shikamaru said. "Neji's right. They're trying to wear us down."

"Those creatures devour people," Lee said. "Once they've taken a human inside their stomach, they start digging an escape tunnel."

"They're trying to kidnap us?" Chouji asked, looking at Shikamaru.

"It's possible," Shino answered. "Remember the Suna ninjas we saw in the auction?"

"He's your target?" Kakashi asked, keeping his eyes on the approaching enemy.

"He has information," Sasuke answered.

"Shouldn't we attack them while they're at a distance?" Naruto asked.

"They're puppets," Sasuke said. "They won't disappear unless we attack the puppeteer."

"Where's the puppeteer?" Chouji asked.

Neji looked around with his byakugan eyes and frowned. "I don't see anyone else here."

"You're not supposed to," Sasuke muttered, activating his eternal Sharingan. He made several hand seals.

A soft jingling sound echoed in the group.

Kakashi, Chouji, Neji, Shikamaru, Kiba, Shino, and Naruto glanced at the round bell dangling from Sasuke's ear.

"They're in the building walls," Sasuke said, keeping his eyes on the approaching zombies. They started to gain speed the minute they crossed the seven feet mark from the group. "Limit yourselves to taijutsu! These are chakra drainers!"

The zombies started to run toward the group. Chouji went back to being a massive rolling ball, crushing zombies on his wake. Kiba and Akamaru flipped their tail and slashed a horde of enemies with their claws.

Shino, Shikamaru, Neji, Lee, Kakashi and Naruto, together with Naruto's clones, attacked each zombie – crippling and dismembering them with every kick and slash of a kunai.

Sasuke, on the other hand, knelt and placed his palms on the ground. He remembered what Houren taught him before the elders let him out of the temple to do missions.

Kakashi and the others felt a sudden surge of chakra in the air – chakra that didn't seem to come from any of them.

Was it the enemy?

"SAI!" Sasuke yelled as electric currents sprouted out from the ground like lively vines– sparks dancing and lighting the nightscape blue.

The ground trembled. Patches of the earth cracked open as if some animal hiding in the underground was trying to escape the clutches of the earth. Something flew out of the cracked earth patches.

Kakashi quickly attacked one of them, hurling a ball of chidori at his prey. Naruto and some of his clones attacked the other, hurling a ball of rasengan at their target. The other one flew into the air as a shadow. A loud roar echoed and Sai landed on the ground in front of Sasuke.

The electric surge disappeared. The army of mindless monsters dropped lifelessly on the ground.

Everyone in the group was gasping for breath – tired of cutting the multiplying zombie army in half. Kakashi and Naruto were pinning down two unconscious raiders on the ground.

"That's… it?" Kiba said, huffing after returning to his human form with Akamaru standing beside him. "I WAS JUST GETTING STARTED!"

"I feel extremely tired though," Chouji said, lying flat on the ground. "Do you guys… Have anything to… Eat?"

Shikamaru sat down beside him, taking several deep breaths. His limbs were shaking.

"The power… of youth…" Lee mumbled, kneeling on the ground and squinting. "Must...Keep… The power of… Youth…"

Naruto glanced at Sasuke. "You weren't kidding when you said they drained chakra," he said.

Sasuke looked up at Sai, ignoring Naruto's comment.

Sai supported a life-size scroll beside him with his right hand. His eyes were fixed at the smoke rising from the scroll.

Neji helped Lee stand, half supporting his colleague's weight by his shoulder. Lee noticed the unconscious raiders Naruto and Kakashi were pinning down on the ground. "HEY! Those are—"

Sai looked at Sasuke. He seemed to be stuck on the ground, though of course, Sasuke didn't seem to be planning to admit it anytime soon. "You're stuck."

"Shut up," Sasuke hissed, glaring icily at Sai.

"Why didn't you just say so?" Naruto asked, chuckling and standing up leaving his clones in charge of guarding their unconscious enemy. He walked to Sasuke and lifted Sasuke's arm to rest on his shoulder. He then slowly lifted Sasuke from the ground.

Sai was right. Sasuke seemed too weak to stand on his feet. He was shaky, and his legs were limping. His face also looked somewhat paler than usual.

Kakashi got a rope from his pocket and began to tie the hands and feet of his victim, the lanky raider. Naruto's clones followed suit, wrapping the massive man they caught in a thick rope from Kakashi.

"That won't hold for long," Sasuke said, glancing at the unconscious raiders. "Where's your medic nin?"

"We put Ino in-charge of the villagers with Hinata," Lee answered.

"Hinata-chan's here?" Naruto exclaimed, almost screaming the question into Sasuke's ear.

Sasuke glared at him. "Shut up, Dobe!"

"Oops! Sorry Teme," Naruto said, grinning at Sasuke.

"Ino too," Chouji said, glancing at Shikamaru. "So that's why he said he'll take us to your girlfriend."

Shikamaru sighed, sitting beside Chouji. "Troublesome," he muttered.

"Where are they?" Neji asked.

"They should be in a safe distance away from here," Kakashi answered. "And they should be here once Hinata thinks it's safe to meet us." He looked at Sasuke. "Do we need to do something else to these two?"

"Does Ino have something to put them to sleep?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes," Kakashi answered. "I actually have one myself," he said, pulling out a bottle.

"It needs to be injected," Sasuke said.

"We'll need to wait for Ino then," Kakashi said, nodding.

"Inuzuka, can you and your dog walk?" Sasuke asked.

"You mean me and _Akamaru,_" Kiba snapped, glaring at Sasuke. "Yeah, we can still move. How the hell did that end so fast anyway?"

Sasuke looked at Kakashi. "How many idiots stayed to fight the raiders?"

"Every able man," Kakashi answered. "You think they're still close?"

"The question is if they're still alive," Sasuke said. He glanced at Kiba. "Search the ground for anything you can dig."

Kiba and Akamaru nodded grimly, understanding what Sasuke meant. They quickly ran in opposite directions, sniffing the scents on the ground.

"Shika-kun?" Ino's voice echoed at a distance.

Everyone turned their heads to see Ino. Behind her were a wave of people – women, children, and elders. Hinata followed close behind Ino.

Once she was sure the brown hair she spotted indeed looked like a brown pineapple silhouette, she sprinted.

"CHOUJI! SHIKA-KUN!"

"Ino!" Chouji greeted, raising his hand.

Shikamaru found himself toppling down on the ground beside Chouji – Ino on top of him, half-choking his neck with her arm. Ino's other arm was stretched to Chouji.

Chouji chuckled. Shikamaru sighed.

Ino sat up, her eyes tearful as she frowned at her team mates. She slapped Shikamaru and Chouji's chests.

"OUCH!" Both men exclaimed, wincing.

"WHAT THE HELL, WOMAN?!" Shikamaru snapped, frowning at Ino.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Ino yelled. "YOU GUYS DIDN'T EVEN SEND A NOTE ABOUT WHERE YOU'VE GONE TOO AND YOU ASK _**ME **_WHAT THE HELL?! Ninjas are being kidnapped! And you all just disappear without a word! WHERE ON EARTH HAVE YOU TWO BEEN?!"

Naruto smirked. "I bet Sakura-chan would say the same thing to us if we were in their position," he said, looking at the commotion Ino was making. Shikamaru was frowning, but looking away. He was muttering 'troublesome' again. Chouji looked scared at Ino. He was trying to reason with her.

Sasuke looked bitterly away. Sakura won't act that way. She won't say anything. She'll just try to ki—

"Naruto-kun," Hinata greeted, her long hair swaying in the evening breeze.

"Hinata-chan!" Naruto greeted back, smiling at her.

It looked like an awkward moment, with Sasuke standing between them.

"Hn," Sasuke groaned, glaring at the ground.

Hinata shyly turned to her cousin. "Oniisama," she greeted, smiling at him. "I'm glad you're all back."

Neji nodded.

"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto called. "Do you have a room we can all use to rest in?"

"We do," Kakashi answered. "I'm about to ask everyone if you'd like to go back there and get your wounds mended."

The villagers looked anxiously around them. A lot of them seemed to be looking for people.

"We need able people to help out," Sasuke called to the crowd.

Kakashi, Sai, Naruto, Shikamaru, Ino, Chouji, Shino, Neji and Lee looked at Sasuke.

Kiba and Akamaru ran back to the group, huffing and somewhat panicking. "We found them!" he said. "We need to hurry. We can't dig all of them out."

"Go help them," Sasuke told Naruto.

"I was about to volunteer," Naruto said, smiling widely at him.

Kakashi took Sasuke's other arm onto his shoulder to support Sasuke's weight. Naruto performed his Kagebunshin technique until there was enough "Naruto" to fill a park.

"Where to?" the Naruto clones asked.

"We'll guide you," Kiba said. He and Akamaru split up again. Half of Naruto's clones followed Kiba. Another followed Akamaru.

"I'm going with Kiba," Shino said.

"Wait," Shikamaru said, standing up. "Ino, take care of Chouji."

"No," Chouji said, forcing himself to sit up. "I'll go with you!"

"No, Chouji," Ino said, glaring at Chouji. "You need to rest or at least eat something first. Come on," she said, taking Chouji's arm over her shoulder.

The crowd was starting to panic, unsure at what was going on. Hinata was trying to calm them down.

"We need people who can dig," Sasuke told the villagers. "Doctors, and people who are brave enough to help doctors—"

More than a handful volunteered, though they were still unsure on what was going on.

"I'll take half of them to Akamaru," Shikamaru said, looking at Shino.

Shino nodded. "I'll take the rest to Kiba."

"I want to help," Lee said.

"Later," Neji said. "You need to be checked first.

"Let's all get inside for now then," Kakashi said. "Oh and Ino, could you inject some sleep serum on those two?" he said, looking at Ino as he nodded his head toward their tied up guests.

Ino glanced at the two prisoners and nodded. "I'll do that now," she said, quickly walking to the two and pulling out her medic kit.

"Sai," Kakashi said, looking at Sai. "Patrol the perimeter."

Sai nodded. He handed the massive scroll to Kakashi and unraveled a long scroll. He began to draw a horde of mice and a flock of birds that soon jumped out of the paper and scoped the village area.

* * *

Keiko walked into Sakura's room with a dextrose bag.

Since Sakura wouldn't want to eat, they were forced to give her intravenous sustenance.

"Hey," she greeted as she set up the IV equipment. "They miss you there in the clinic. They want you to get better soon."

Sakura remained silent, staring out at the blue sky through her open window.

Keiko glanced at Sakura. "Sasuke-san said 'goodbye' to you," she said. "You were awake."

Sakura's facial expression remained unchanged.

Keiko sat on Sakura's bed. "You weren't dreaming. He really cares about you. Are you going to doubt Naruto's word now, after all the things he's done for you?"

Sakura's eyes trembled – her resolve wavering a little.

Keiko smiled. "Hou-chan and I are having a bet," she said. "If you start eating on your own next week, I get to order him around for a week. If you don't start eating on your own soon, he'll order me around for two weeks." She leaned closer to Sakura, showing her the cutest, most irresistible puppy eyes she could muster. "Would you really let that happen to me, Onee-chan?"

Sakura glanced at Keiko.

Keiko pouted her lips and hugged Sakura. "Just take it easy, okay? Take your time in sorting things out. A lot of things in the world aren't what they seem."

Sakura looked away.

It just seemed so… impossible… Sasuke actually caring for her that way…

* * *

Almost all the adults in the village stayed awake that night. Naruto's clones transported muddy, unconscious villagers the whole evening.

Luckily, all seventy-four missing villagers were found – almost all of them in the brink of suffocation. The zombies that devoured them froze while digging their tunnels away from the village. They were stuck underground inside the bellies of the creatures that attacked them.

A lot of them were still under observation but the village doctors were sure they would survive.

Chouji and Lee were advised to sleep. After close examination, Ino found out their chakra levels dropped heavily, most likely due to the chakra-draining creatures. Kiba and Akamaru also had to get back to rest after they almost fainted while digging up for the villagers.

Neji, who ran to help out with the digging when Hinata started to check Lee's condition, helped get Kiba and Akamaru back to the village to be checked. Naruto was the last to get back from the excavation. He fell unconscious the minute he reached the living room of the house Kakashi and the others were staying in.

In the end, many of the Konoha ninjas spent the night resting. Ino and Hinata took turns in checking on the patients while Kakashi and Sai took turns in guarding the village – patrolling the premise every three hours.

Sasuke on the other hand stayed awake the whole night, watching the giant scroll that caged the leader of the raiders. He stayed in the same room as the prisoners, guarding them as they slept.

It was three in the morning when Kakashi got back from his round and checked on Sasuke. "You didn't sleep," he said as he walked into the room.

Sasuke didn't respond. He just stared at the scroll.

Kakashi sighed as he sat down beside him.

Sasuke was still too pale. He needed a good rest.

"You weren't supposed to do what you did back there, huh?" he asked. "What was it that you did anyway? It's not just firing a chidori underground."

It took a moment for Sasuke to reply.

"It's what Houren taught Sakura," he said. "I just did it correctly."

Kakashi stared at Sasuke for a second before he burst into laughter. "No wonder you look horrible."

"It takes a lot of chakra to influence someone else's," Sasuke said. "…Especially at a distance."

"And you pulled out chakra from three people underground at the same time," Kakashi said. "Were we in that grave of a danger?"

"They've sold ninjas from Ame and Suna in the underground auction," Sasuke said.

Kakashi sighed. "Why didn't you warn us then?"

"I didn't think the old hag would send you to catch this one," Sasuke answered.

"We didn't have enough to go around," Kakashi said. "Not that I'm blaming you. You've done us a great favor already."

Sasuke gave a bitter smirk.

Kakashi looked at the scroll, knowing what Sasuke was thinking. "Shikamaru told me what happened."

Sasuke just stared at the scroll.

"I don't blame you there either," Kakashi continued. "First of all, Sakura had been in love with you since I first got all of you in my team. There's nothing you could have done to change that. Not even Sakura could change it."

Silence filled the room.

"Second?" Sasuke asked.

"Second, she wasn't trying to get away from you," Kakashi said. "She was trying to protect you. It still boils down to the first one."

Sasuke stared at the scroll, noting every minute spot and crease on the paper. "If she didn't meet me," he said.

Kakashi sighed. "She had been in love with you before you met each other," he said. "I thought you spent your preparatory years in the academy."

"What if she didn't know me?" Sasuke asked.

"Well she did, get over it."

Sasuke frowned at the scroll.

"I've taught you time and again to live in the present," Kakashi said. "Or have you not seen the signs I've dropped on you yet for the past years?"

Sasuke sighed. "What if I'm not for this?"

"What if you are?" Kakashi asked.

Another moment of silence…

"Get some sleep," Kakashi said. "We're going back to Konoha tomorrow."

"I can't," Sasuke answered.

Kakashi glanced at Sasuke. "What else is going to happen to this scroll?"

Sasuke didn't speak.

"I know this isn't just Sai's sealing technique," Kakashi said.

Sasuke remained silent. He was tired. Kakashi was right. He needed to rest, but not until—

A soft purple light emanated from the scroll.

Kakashi quickly hunched into a defensive stance – a kunai in hand.

Sasuke activated his sharingan. A soft jingle sound echoed in the room. "Open the scroll," he ordered.

Kakashi carefully unfolded the scroll, revealing Sai's massive tiger caging the leader of the raider in his claws. The tiger's fangs pierced the raider's throat.

Kakashi watched the raider struggle. It was as if he knew a way to get out of the scroll.

Blue sparks of lightning rushed out of the raider's chest, causing him to shriek in pain. The lightning formed a round orb surrounding the tiger and his captive – a cage made of the raider's own chakra.

A long purple line emerged on the scroll paper. It opened, like a slit, and revealed a purple eye with a scarlet pupil. The eye ball moved around as if it was examining the room where the scroll was in, before it fixed itself to stare at Sasuke.

"You're siding with the wrong people," a deep husky voice bounced on the walls of the room. "Konoha killed your family."

Sasuke didn't answer. He just stared at the eye.

"You've grown weaker," the voice continued. "But my offer still stands. Side with me, and I will give your clan its rightful place. I will help you make the Uchiha clan the most powerful human clan."

Kakashi glanced at Sasuke.

"I'll even save Sakura for you," the voice whispered.

Sasuke closed his eyes. He reached out his hand and touched the scroll. A surge of purple electricity devoured his hand. He winced and muttered intelligible words before pulling his hand back, cursing.

Screams of agony filled the room – screams that seemed to come from the imprisoned raider in the scroll.

Sasuke opened his eyes and frowned at the unwound paper. The bell dangling from his ear rang. The eye on the scroll closed and twisted into a wicked smile.

"I'll be waiting, Uchiha," the voice said before the smile disappeared from the scroll, leaving the image of the tiger and the struggling raider on the paper.

Kakashi watched the raider's mask burn, revealing the lower half of a rotting skull. "Is that because of a relic?"

"Yes," Sasuke answered. "He was given access to the usage of a relic in exchange for a part of his soul, but the deal costs him more than that. There are rules for using relics. One of them is that it must be fed before it is ordered to do anything. His access to the relic is reliant on chakra. And since I pulled out most of his chakra, the relic couldn't work to his advantage. It's been trying to get enough chakra from him since he ordered it to free him from that scroll."

"So the relic is eating him up?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes," Sasuke answered. "…Starting with the most vulnerable part of his body – the lower half of his face that had been devoured by his contract with the relic..."

The exposed bone began to crumble and turn into dust. The raider's skin slowly shrunk into wrinkly sheets of dry leather – the flesh underneath his skin sinking into his bones. Soon his eyeballs were exposed – round, bleeding objects shrinking into nothing under Kakashi and Sasuke's gaze.

The tiger growled as his prey crumbled into intelligible stains on the paper.

Sasuke glanced at the two other raiders still unconscious in a corner of the room.

"Will the same thing happen to them?" Kakashi asked.

"No," Sasuke answered. "You're sure it will be safe to get out of the village by dawn?"

"Well, you haven't scanned the area yourself," Kakashi said. "As far as we can check, we're good."

Sasuke nodded.

"So the information this raider has that you need," Kakashi prompted.

"I got it," Sasuke said. "These raiders don't just deliver ninjas to the underground auction. They have a direct correspondence with the group we're dealing with."

"Hence his access to a relic," Kakashi said. "So he knows where they are now?"

"Not all of them," Sasuke said. "Just the most important one in the group – the one who's in need of developed chakra from ninjas."

Kakashi looked grimly at the scroll. "The one you spoke with just now."

Sasuke closed his eyes, feeling extremely tired.

"They've been offering you a chance to exact your revenge, haven't they?" Kakashi said.

Sasuke didn't answer.

"And you've been thinking about accepting it," Kakashi continued.

"I'll be honest with you," Sasuke said, opening his eyes. "They have the upper hand right now, whether I join them or not."

Kakashi glanced at Sasuke. "And..?"

"I don't really feel like dying yet," Sasuke said.

* * *

"Oda-kun… What are you doing?" a little girl – her plump flushed cheeks a lively contrast against her pale skin – said, as she watched him with her round grey eyes.

Oda was busy looking at an old tree. They were supposed to be playing hide-and-seek in the forest – the usual thing they did whenever they were given the chance to get out of the temple. But instead of hiding from her, Oda stared at one of the ancient trees in the woods.

She walked closer to Oda, ignoring the soft crunching sound her bare feet made against the blanket of snow.

"What's wrong?" she asked, pulling one of the layers of Oda's clothing – draped robes of dull and dark hues.

Oda turned to face her – his thick downy dark hair bouncing on his shoulders. He gazed at her long glowing white hair as it danced in the winter breeze. She looked as astounding as when he first saw her…

…When she welcomed him in the temple and made him feel like he was finally home.

"Do you remember what the elders said about rabbit holes that needed to be closed?" he said, smiling excitedly at her.

She nodded. "I still don't understand why we need to close them," she said. "If we do, the rabbits won't have homes anymore."

Oda chuckled. She was so innocent sometimes; he had to wonder how she outsmarted him in school. "I don't think they were talking about _real_ rabbit holes," he said before looking back at the old tree in front of them – a black tree that seemed huge enough for an elder in his serpent form to perch on. He raised his hand and touched its trunk, oddly creating ripples on the bark.

She gasped. "A door," she whispered.

Oda nodded.

"Let's tell the elders," she said, turning away to sprint back to the temple.

"Wait," Oda said, pulling her arm to stop her. "Do you know where it leads to?"

She shrugged her shoulders.

The boy looked at the tree again. "Would you like to know?"

"You mean you like to go in _there_?" she asked, pointing at the tree. "Wouldn't that be against the rules?"

Oda smiled at her. "No one else will know," he said. "We're the only ones here."

She frowned, took a deep breath and sighed. "I guess you're right," she said, walking closer to the bark. "We'll still be able to get back, right?"

"And if we don't, we'll be together," he said, holding her hand. He had always wanted to tell her those words… Wanted her to understand the depth of the statement…

She chuckled. "Maybe we'll make new friends on the other side!"

He smirked. "If there's anyone there worth talking to," he said.

She looked eagerly at the tree. "Perhaps there is!"

He sighed. "They won't be as worth of talking to, as you," he whispered. Why couldn't she see through his hints?

"Let's go!" she said, pulling her with him as she sprinted into the tree.

On the other side of the tree was a grassy hill, cradled in the light of the moon and the shimmering stars. Below the hill was a sleeping forest, and further on – a village.

"It's beautiful!" she gasped. "It's not snowing here… And it's night time! Let's go to the village!"

"Wait," he said, pulling her close to his side. "What if they're marauders?" Suddenly, walking through the door didn't seem like a good idea.

What if the door led to marauder territory? What if they attacked them…_kidnapped_ them..? If they learned about her lineage, they would chop her to pieces and make relics out of her!

She frowned – her lips in a pout. "What if they're not?"

"What if they are?"

"Who's there?!" they heard a voice call from beyond the woods. They gasped and looked anxiously at where it came from.

"I—I'm not afraid of you!" the voice shakily said.

They looked at each other, puzzled. By the sound of the voice, it seemed to come from a boy around their age.

She looked out at the forest. "I'm sorry," she said. "We don't mean to intrude. My friend and I are lost, you see."

Oda saw movement in the woods – the owner of the voice walking toward them. She bent slightly forward curious at what the owner of the voice looked like.

They soon saw a pair of feet held by dark sandals on the grass. And from the shadows of the trees they saw a boy clad in a worn kimono. His dark eyes, laced with fear, looked curiously at them – a human.

She smiled at the boy. "Hello," she said.

"Hello," the boy said, scratching his deep brown hair. "Y—You two are lost?"

She nodded.

"M—Me too."

She chuckled and skipped down the hill to meet him. "I'm Shirayuri," she said. "My friend up there is Oda-kun."

The boy smiled. "I'm Tobayashi."

Oda wanted to pull Shirayuri back to his side – tell her Tobayashi was a marauder in disguise…A blood-thirsty murderer who would cause her to be dismembered twenty years later. He should have killed Tobayashi the minute he emerged from the shadows.

Odayakana opened his eyes to the dim light. He saw the familiar worn drapes on the stone ceiling, and the flickering flames dancing with them.

Right. He was in his room in the underground haven he found upon crossing the border. And he was dreaming. He had been doing so a lot lately. When was the last time he woke up, again?

"You met the devil," he heard his faithful right hand's voice echo in the room.

Ah…Hikaru – his precious pet, the most faithful of his subjects. The half-cat, half-human was a result of human's attempt on using a relic to gain power. The idiot didn't know the relic he found _transformed_ things, and he ended up fusing a stray cat with a slave boy he had been physically abusing.

The mortal tried to kill the half-breed, treating the boy as a monster. So the half-breed became a monster – a monster that left him for dead that stormy evening. That was how Oda found him, and when he named him "Hikaru."

Hikaru… He was no longer in the shadow of his cruel master. He was no longer scrawny and weak. The name suited him now.

Oda smiled. "He's getting better at using our tricks," he said, remembering his conversation with Sasuke.

Yes… Before seeing his childhood memory, he spoke to Sasuke through one of the raiders he contracted to be an extension of himself. Not that the raider knew he was being used as a puppet, of course. Humans were easy to fool.

"I don't think that's something to be happy about," Hikaru said, frowning.

He wore the white robe over his cream kimono again. The boy _loved_ wearing white for some reason. Perhaps it was because of being deprived of clean clothes for so long..?

Oda chuckled. "Oh come now, Hikaru," he said, looking at his blonde caretaker seated on a chair beside his bed. "Don't be jealous."

"He's a human," Hikaru hissed – his cat-like eyes glaring at Oda.

Cats… Selfish things…

"Yes," Oda said. "But he can be of great use to us. His rage almost overthrew Konoha."

"He's weak now," Hikaru said. "I bet one of our men will be enough to defeat him."

Oda sighed. "Yes," he said. "He's gone too soft to be a threat."

Love was just an annoying double-edged sword. One moment it empowers you, but at the same moment it weakens you.

"But with the right motivation," Oda continued. "I'm sure he'll be of some use to us."

"Why are you so interested with this scoundrel anyway?" Hikaru asked, frowning.

Ah… Hikaru was still young. The transformation made him as tall as a twenty-year-old man. But it didn't change the fact that he was merely an eleven-year-old boy who hadn't had enough experience in life.

"We share something," Oda said. "…Devotion."

"Am I not devoted enough for you?" Hikaru asked.

"That's not what I meant, Hikaru," Oda said. If his hand cooperated with him, he would pat the boy on the head. He was still so young…his dear son.

" Do you think I'll be able to reach his girl from here?" Oda asked.

"I will not allow it," Hikaru hissed. "You can barely stand from your bed. At least wait for the raiders to deliver the ninjas. They should be here in a few days."

Oda sighed. "But waiting is such a bore," he said. And they lost one of the raiders who had the ability to capture ninjas. He would have to wait longer for the shipment.

"You won't be confined on your bed if you patiently transported the relics here one by one," Hikaru said. "_And_ if you heeded my advice and didn't play with the relics after that."

Oda chuckled. "Of course," he said. This is the point when Oda was sure Hikaru was inwardly muttering about how hard raising a parent is. "How many souls must I devour to regain my strength?"

"Ten more," Hikaru answered.

"…Even after I've consumed that… Raider?" Oda asked. His extensions also served as his sustenance when they were no longer of use to him.

Like that raider, who, though powerful enough to capture the Konoha ninjas, wouldn't have stood a chance against Uchiha Sasuke.

"Yes," Hikaru said. "He didn't exactly have the amount of chakra you needed. If you devoured Uchiha, it would have been reduced to eight."

Oda laughed. "I doubt I'll be devouring him anytime soon," he said. "I must admit it's quite disappointing. His friends seem really fit enough to sustain me."

"I can always send Roku for the job," Hikaru said. "He'd be more than happy to get those Konoha ninjas for you."

"Nah," Oda said. "Knowing him, he would put even Uchiha on my plate. I wouldn't like that."

Hikaru rolled his eyes. "Would you like to eat now? You've been unconscious for the past three weeks."

Ah… So the last time he woke up as three weeks ago.

"Not really," Oda answered. "I still feel a bit sleepy, actually."

Hikaru looked sadly at Oda. "You're having nightmares, aren't you? Her thoughts are fusing with yours. Perhaps we should take the relic out of your body now."

"Nonsense," Oda said, smiling at the ceiling. "I've never been happier. Having her in my head makes me feel like she's just right beside me again."

"But your body isn't taking it well," Hikaru said. "You said it yourself, relics weren't meant to be absorbed into the body."

"I can handle myself," Oda said, smiling reassuringly at Hikaru.

He had to admit he was feeling a bit scared for Hikaru though – how he would be when everything he had planned is completed.

"Right now, I want you to make sure everything is in place," he continued.

Hikaru sighed. "They are now closing the boarders," he said. "All that's left to do is infiltrate Konoha. But we're working on it now."

"Good," Oda said. "I wonder how they would react the minute they learn Sasuke has switched to our side of the fence."

* * *

It was early in the morning.

Kakashi, Sasuke, Naruto, Sai, Shikamaru, Ino, Chouji, Hinata, Neji, Lee, Kiba, Akamaru, and Shino set out to report back to Konoha with the raiders they captured. The prisoners were too heavy to carry though so Sasuke offered his "mystical" black blanket so they could be hidden in anyone's pocket.

Kiba stared at the ball of blanket snuggled in Lee's back pack. He still couldn't believe two tall humans were inside the blanket.

"How the hell—" he muttered.

"Just be thankful Sasuke let us barrow it," Chouji muttered as he walked beside Kiba.

They were around a mile away from the village and had just reached the woody part of the forest. "Why are we just walking again?" Kiba asked.

"We're trying to be extra careful," Shikamaru said. "The coast is clear as far as Hinata and Neji can see. But our enemies are using genjutsu that only Sasuke can detect. So what Sasuke says, we follow."

"And he said 'walk,'" Kiba said, looking at Sasuke who was walking beside Kakashi, Naruto and Sai who were leading the group.

Sasuke still looked a bit pale, probably because Ino said he barely slept the night before.

They hadn't talked about how the battle ended so quickly that evening. When they woke up, they were all told to eat breakfast and get ready to go home. No one opened up anything about what Sasuke did to catch the raiders.

It was annoying Kiba. They had been on a mission for days now, and the only action they had was that short fight last night!

And no one seemed to notice the giant scroll that Sai was no longer carrying – the cage where the leader of the raiders was supposed to be imprisoned.

Sasuke's brows furrowed.

Everyone who happened to be looking at Sasuke stiffened.

Did he sense an enemy?

Neji and Hinata quickly activated their byakugan and looked around.

Sasuke took a deep breath… And yawned.

Everyone else sighed – either slapping their foreheads, shyly looking away or muttering curses.

_False alarm. _

Of course, Sasuke was sleepy. And yawning in front of them meant he was _really_sleepy.

"Are you sure you can walk?" Kakashi asked, more to tease Sasuke than to express his concern for his condition. "Naruto can carry you on his back."

"Yeah, Teme," Naruto anxiously said – too thick to recognize the taunting air in Kakashi's words. "Are you alright?"

Sasuke glared icily at the woods. "Shut up," he hissed. There was no way he would let anyone carry him on the way back to Konoha, unless he had fallen unconscious enough to not be aware of it.

Chouji and Kiba snickered. Shikamaru smirked.

"I'm here for you, Sasuke," Lee said with his usual determined tone. "Just say the word and I'll carry you!"

Neji looked away, embarrassed. Hinata tried her best not to giggle.

"Why did that just sound so wrong?" Ino asked.

"There's nothing wrong with it," Lee said. "We're team mates here. And team mates help each other. That's the power of youth!"

Shikamaru sighed. "Troublesome," he muttered.

Sasuke was about to snap at everyone for talking about him when he felt something terribly wrong in the forest. He stopped walking.

Everyone else followed suit, suddenly on their heels. Hinata and Neji activated their byakugan and looked around them.

"Are they underground?" Neji asked.

"No," Sasuke answered, activating his sharingan.

A soft jingle sound echoed in the woods.

A cool breeze touched their skin. Everyone was silent.

Sasuke quickly did several hand seals. "Aim for the trees!" he shouted before slamming his hand on the ground.

The minute his palm touched the moist grass, the trees lifted their roots from the ground. They swayed and flung their branches at the group. Everyone sprinted up in the air, only to be hit by the leaves that fell from the trees…

…Leaves that turned out to be as sharp as a katana.


	13. Chapter 13

Jirotaiku stared at the raiders his team caught in their last mission, through the slits of his ANBU mask.

His group was in charge of catching a team of raiders that had been pestering the west side of the country. The intelligence reports they received said the raiders were capable of kidnapping ninjas, hence the ANBU deployment. But when the battle with the raiders ensued, Jirotaiku and his team didn't even need to execute their intricate plan.

They were able to tie up fifteen unconscious raiders in half an hour.

Still baffled at the events that ensued, Jirotaiku and his team brought the raiders back to Konoha following what had been agreed upon by the elders and the Hokage.

And there he was with his team, watching the unconscious raiders slumped on the floor – chains replacing the ropes they had tied them up with.

"It's been twelve hours," one of the ANBU in the room said – Yura, if Jirotaiku remembered correctly. ANBU still retained the rule of anonymity, though of course it couldn't be followed within the family unit since anyone would most likely have to inform their kin about their whereabouts. And it was easy to figure out who the person behind a mask was when you've known each other sometime in the past.

Jirotaiku went to the ninja academy with Yura, so he knew what he looked like even with the ANBU mask on.

"Are you sure they're still in good condition?" Kaito, the leader of Jirotaiku's team asked the medic ninja hunched over the unconscious men, examining the captives. Kaito was also in Jirotaiku's class.

"I don't see anything wrong with their vitals," Hiyoshi, one of the apprenticing medic ninjas in the hospital who was assigned to examine the prisoners, said frowning at the sleeping raiders. "No concussion, no trauma, no chemical imbalance… I honestly can't see why they're still sleeping."

"What should we do?" Kaoru, the only girl in the group asked Kaito. She was just a year younger than Jirotaiku and his batch mates and her indigo braided hair was a giveaway.

"They need to be ready for the interrogation," Kaito said. He turned to Hiyoshi. "Can you give them something to wake them up?"

"I can give them stimulants," Hiyoshi said, fishing out a bottle and a box of syringes from his medic pouch. "I can't assure you it will work though."

"It's better than hoping they wake up in time for the interrogation," Kaito said. "Let's go and report this to Ibiki."

Kaoru and Yura nodded.

Kaito glanced at Jirotaiku, noticing how he kept his eyes on the prisoners. "Is there something you want to share?"

Jirotaiku glanced at Kaito. "I just feel like there's something terribly wrong with this setup."

Kaito nodded and watched Hiyoshi inject small amounts of stimulants into each captive's veins. "What do you suggest we do?"

"I'd like to stay here until Hiyoshi's done," Jirotaiku answered. "And I'd greatly appreciate it if you request for this cell to be sealed off, and have more ANBU guards posted outside."

Kaito kept his eyes at the sleeping raiders, thinking about Jirotaiku's request. "You think something's going to happen," he said.

Jirotaiku shrugged his shoulders. "I can always be wrong," he said.

Kaito turned away, leading Yura and Kaoru out of the cell. "Make sure Hiyoshi gets back to the hospital after this," he said, obviously to Jirotaiku. "I'll see what I can do with sealing the cell."

Jirotaiku nodded.

Kaito had toughened up since he joined the ANBU – looking too fierce for any ANBU member to cross with his massive built and husky voice. But he was still easy to convince – at least for Jirotaiku.

Jiro heard the steel door of the cell slide shut, locking him and Hiyoshi inside with the unconscious prisoners.

"This is just crazy," Hiyoshi muttered, frowning at the man he just injected stimulants to.

"What's wrong?" Jirotaiku asked, eyeing the sleeping prisoner where Hiyoshi was hunched over.

"This stimulant is used to wake up patients who had been administered with anesthetics," Hiyoshi said. "The amount I injected should be enough to wake them up, since you said you didn't drug them. But they're not showing any signs that they're waking up."

Jirotaiku frowned. "So they should wake up any minute now?" he asked.

"Yes," Hiyoshi answered, standing up. "Any second, actually."

"You can't increase the dose?" Jirotaiku asked.

Hiyoshi shook his head. "It can kill them."

Jirotaiku stared at each of the sleeping captives, puzzling over why they seemed to have been assigned to the wrong group of raiders and why he was having a bad feeling about keeping the raiders in Konoha.

"Can you sense their chakra?" Jirotaiku asked Hiyoshi.

"Yes," Hiyoshi answered. "They're all stable."

Jirotaiku nodded. "I'll take you back to the hospital," he said.

Hiyoshi nodded and followed him out of the cell.

The sound of the steel door slamming shut brought back a memory to Jirotaiku. He snapped his head to look back at the cell. But the steel door was supposed to keep its prisoners from seeing anyone from the outside without permission.

He cursed.

Jirotaiku's unique transportation jutsu using flames and scrolls was what inspired Houren to teach him another form of transportation technique – one that used more than just tangible resources and transported more than just corporeal things.

It was how he coped with being stuck in a comatose – how he was able to converse with Sakura from the comforts of the ICU.

No one, not even the Hokage, knew Jirotaiku had been conscious enough to keep tabs on Sakura and Sasuke's situation. His chakra levels remained stable, but only because he was able to utilize chakra coming from outside his body – an innate technique in Houren's kind that had been passed on to him, to Sakura, and surely to Sasuke.

What were the odds that the raiders were in an astral dimension? What if they were simply waiting for the ANBU to take them to Konoha, to lock them up in the depths of the village – to later execute a mission they were planning against Konoha?

It couldn't happen though. The raiders looked more like toddlers biting off more than they could chew when Jirotaiku and his team faced them. They barely had enough knowledge to save themselves from Jirotaiku's flame genjutsu.

And if they _were_ in some astral dimension, that would mean they had knowledge about Houren and his kinds' ways. Based on their intelligence reports though, the raiders were only paid to hunt down sacrifices. They didn't seem to care what the fuss was about.

Unless—Unless…

Jirotaiku forced himself to look away from the door.

"What is it?" Hiyoshi asked, noticing the grimness of Jirotaiku's aura.

"Did you look at their eyes?" Jirotaiku asked.

"Yes," Hiyoshi answered. "They didn't seem out of the ordinary."

Jirotaiku looked at Hiyoshi. "Where were they directed at?"

Hiyoshi stared puzzled at Jirotaiku. "They look like they're in a deep sleep, if that's what you're asking," he said. "So deep, not even flashing lights in their pupils could wake them up."

"Like in a coma..?" Jirotaiku asked.

Hiyoshi slowly nodded. "Should I have said that to your team leader?"

"No," Jirotaiku answered. "You did a good job. I'll escort you to the hospital now."

They both walked down the dark tunnel that led to the stairs – Jirotaiku hoping Sasuke had returned with his rookie nine cohorts.

Suddenly, the chances of surviving whatever was coming grew thin.

* * *

Sasuke found himself standing on the side of a tree, looking guardedly at the smoke that emerged in front of them with his Sharingan spinning madly in fight mode.

They were busy avoiding the deadly leaves when an explosion erupted in the scene, throwing every member of their group in several directions.

"Anyone alive..?" Sasuke heard Shikamaru call out from the smoke in his left.

"Yeah!" responded everyone in the immediate vicinity – each voice corresponding to all their team members.

A puff of smoke burst behind Sasuke and revealed Kakashi. "You have to rest," he said, seeing how paler Sasuke had become.

His lips were in a light shade of purple.

"I'm good," Sasuke said, trying hard not to gasp for air.

It wasn't the time for anyone in the group to consider his health. Someone just ambushed them. And based on the damage it created in the area, he deduced it was a relic-keeper – one of the people they needed to destroy to stop Konoha's ominous destruction.

The smoke slowly cleared, revealing the carnage of blasting Rasengan in monster trees and everyone's location. Almost everyone stood on the side of the leaning trees that were caught in the crossfire.

"Teme!" Naruto anxiously called, eyeing Sasuke's weak physique.

Sasuke didn't look at him. He had to show everyone that he was still strong enough to fight with them or one of them – probably Lee – would be ordered to get him to Konoha while the others fought the enemy.

A hearty laugh echoed in the area, followed by the sound of a jingling bell.

Sasuke froze.

"A relic..?" Kakashi asked.

"No wonder that loud-mouthed idiot lost," a husky voice echoed in the fading smoke. "The Devil is here."

In the middle of the thrashed clearing stood a plump man patting his oversized stomach with his stubby hands. His bald head was scribbled with black ink that stretched to the dark slits in his face, serving as his eyes.

"Roku," Sasuke hissed.

"You remember me!" Roku crooned, grinning ear to ear like a toddler who just received a birthday present.

Naruto, Lee, Kiba, Chouji, Hinata and Ino stared confused at Roku. Neji and Shino raised their brows. Shikamaru frowned, trying hard not to cringe. Kakashi just mumbled a "wow."

It was as if Roku was one of Sasuke's fan gi—boys – fan boys!

Sai glanced at Sasuke. "Confirmed," he muttered, thinking clearly about Sasuke's sexuality.

"What the hell—!" Sasuke exclaimed, glaring at the others. "Stop gawking like idiots! He's here to kill us!"

"Ouch," Roku crooned, feigning the face of a broken hearted man while touching the part of his chest where his heart should be. "That hurt. You really think that ill of me, Sasu-kun? …After sharing that cold night with me?"

Naruto, Lee, Kiba, Akamaru, Chouji, Hinata and Ino froze – jaws stretching to the floor. Shino cringed. Neji scoffed. "I _knew_ it," he muttered. Shikamaru winced. "How troublesome," he sighed. Sai smiled. "Ugly's going to love this," he muttered.

Kakashi snickered and patted Sasuke's shoulder. "I accept you for who you are, Sasuke."

"DAMN IT!" Sasuke yelled – cheeks scarlet. "WHAT DO YOU WANT?!" he shouted at Roku.

"I was just passing by when I saw loudmouth's troops attacking you," Roku said.

Loudmouth's troops..?

Naruto, Kiba, Chouji, Hinata, Ino, and Lee glanced at each other. Shino and Sai eyed Roku curiously. Neji raised a brow at Roku. Shikamaru sighed. Kakashi glanced at Sasuke, who was frozen – clearly realizing something.

"That wasn't you?" Neji asked.

"Nope," Roku said, too friendly for Neji's liking. "I just helped you get rid of them," he said, patting his tummy.

"His stomach's even bigger than Chouji's," Kiba hissed.

"You still don't believe me, do you?" Roku said, smirking smugly at them.

Everyone remained quiet and on defense mode.

Roku laughed. "Fine," he said. "I'll show you."

Sasuke cursed. "Cover your nose!" he shouted, just as Roku lifted his head up to face the sky. The others were too fixed at what Roku was doing though.

Roku gagged, as if he was trying to pull up whatever he had for breakfast from his stomach. He coughed and hurled his head back down, belching loudly – causing the ground to tremble.

From his mouth emerged a massive tree – one of the trees that attacked Sasuke's group. It was covered in black slime. How it fit inside Roku, who was just a quarter of the tree's size, was beyond Naruto, Kiba, Chouji, Shikamaru, Neji, Shino, Ino, Hinata, Kakashi, Sai and Lee's knowledge.

And as the tree hit the ground, they noticed a hair-like thing on one of the branches, only to realize it was actually a head attached to the tree branch. There were also other body parts scattered and embedded in the tree, as if the grown plant was half-human.

Kiba and Akamaru coughed out loud, suddenly unable to breathe. It didn't take long for the others to learn what clogged Kiba and Akamaru's lungs though.

The scent of rotting corpse engulfed the breeze. Naruto, Kiba, Akamaru, Chouji, Shikamaru, Neji, Shino, Ino, Hinata, Kakashi, Sai, and Lee couldn't help but fall down on the ground – too dizzy and nauseous to pump enough chakra in their feet to stay in their places.

Sasuke jumped down from the tree – covering his nose and glaring at Roku.

"Oops," Roku said, laughing heartily as he stared at the slime-drenched tree. "I guess I've already digested this one. Oh well. Now, do you believe me?"

"D—Digested?" Naruto hissed, wincing and covering his nose.

Roku snickered. He opened his mouth again.

Sasuke quickly made a series of hand seals.

A strong wind began to blow, sucking Naruto and the others toward Roku's open mouth. They pumped chakra into their limbs to keep them on the ground.

The rotting tree was sucked back into Roku's mouth. He didn't stop there though. He kept his mouth open – sucking everything in front of him like a black hole.

A wall of lightning sparks rose from the ground, covering Naruto and the others.

Naruto glanced at Sasuke and saw him on his knees – hands planted firmly on the ground.

After a minute or so, Roku closed his mouth. The sucking wind vanished, as well as the nauseating scent in the air.

Naruto, Kiba, Akamaru, Chouji, Shikamaru, Neji, Shino, Ino, Hinata, Kakashi, Sai, and Lee fell face first on the ground – suddenly too weak to keep their feet up.

"Thank you for donating chakra for my master," Roku said, grinning cheerfully at them.

"D—Donating..?" Kiba asked, looking up at Roku.

"Especially you, Sasu-kun," Roku said, smirking at Sasuke who was gasping for breath on the ground. "Your chakra is still as delicious as I remember."

Sasuke tried to glare at Roku, but he was starting to see black spots everywhere. Every touch of the calm breeze felt too cold against his skin. And his limbs, fixed on the ground, were trembling. He wanted it to stop, but he couldn't command his body to do anything anymore.

"Well," Roku said. "I guess I can go now. I'm actually supposed to put your friends here in my tummy," he said, patting his stomach. "And take them back to Oda. But since you've all been kind enough to lend me some of your chakra, I guess I won't need to kidnap you anymore. I'm supposed to take you to him too," he said, eyeing Sasuke. "Konoha will need a new Kage when we're done with it. And who else is fit for the position than you – the only remaining member of the clan the Konoha people had undermined for so long."

Sasuke coughed, feeling something choking his lungs.

The poison in Roku's breath had penetrated his bloodstream.

"But I know you won't take the position," Roku said. "Not when you've ignored all the efforts you and your ancestors made to revive your clan's honor. So I won't take you to Oda today." He turned to leave. "You know where to find us anyway. I'll see you _very_ soon, Sasu-kun!"

Roku's loud laughter filled the air once again before everything went black.

* * *

She was so annoying.

"How are you feeling now?" Sakura asked, winding the new bandage around Sasuke's torso as he sat on his bed.

Hasn't he already established that he wasn't _talking_ to her?

"Your wounds are better," she continued, smiling as she secured the bandage. "We'll just need to make sure they heal properly. How's your leg?" she asked, looking up at him.

He just frowned and looked away.

Sakura smiled sadly. "It's a pain, isn't it?"

Yes, you're a _pain_.

"Don't worry," she said. "We'll take the cast off soon. Just a little more and you'll be able to lose the extra weight on your leg."

…Like I care.

Sakura began to put her doctor tools into her medic box.

At last, she was going to leave him in peace.

But to Sasuke's surprise, she stayed. She sat on his bed, looked at him longingly and sighed.

"Do you really hate me that much?" she asked – hurt filling her voice.

Sasuke froze. He hated it when she did that… When she made him feel guiltier than he already was.

Sakura looked down at his bandaged hand. She picked it up and rubbed her palms against it – her warmth filling his hand. "Is there really nothing I can do for you to forgive me?"

WHAT THE HELL, WOMAN?!

Sasuke glared at her – the pain in his chest weakening the impact of his glower.

She looked up at him and smiled. "I got you there, huh?" she said, teasing.

He frowned and looked away.

It was a trap. Idiot…

Sakura chuckled and did another thing that shocked the hell out of Sasuke – she hugged him.

He froze as his heart beat against her chest – sparks searing his insides. He wanted to push her away, but it was as if his limbs would pull her closer if he even dared to move them.

"I won't give up," she said. "I don't care if you talking to me will get me killed. You're all I have."

Sasuke closed his eyes.

Why did she have to say that?

After a moment or so, she leaned away and looked at him again. She seemed to have seen what she wanted and smiled. "Thank you," she said. "…For not pushing me away this time."

My freaking arm is broken! Of course, I won't push you away!

She then stood up and bid him goodbye.

The next time she walked into the room, she greeted him in a more cheerful tone. "How are you? Have you eaten?" she asked before taking her place in the chair next to his bed and unloading the tools she stored in her medic bag. "Let me change the bandage on your torso first," she said, skillfully unfastening the end of the bandage.

He looked at her.

Did he really want to be friends with her again? Could he really live away from her? Would being friends with her really help her when she regained her memories?

Friends… Just friends… Perhaps—

"I'm a Konoha ninja. I'm the last surviving member of the Uchiha clan – a family famous for the eye technique, Sharingan. I was in a genin team with Hatake Kakashi, Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura when I was younger. I went rogue to be stronger, and lived away from them for years. I murdered a lot of people, almost caused the destruction of Konoha, and I attempted to kill you several times."

Her green eyes looked at him – surprised, puzzled, fascinated? They remained that way for a while – locked in each other's gaze.

Then she smiled. "You seemed very relieved to see me alive though," she said.

He looked away.

Yes. Ironic, isn't it?

Sakura proceeded with unwinding the bandage around his torso. "So… You've known me for a while," she said. "Did I…like you?"

Sasuke spared her a glance. He might as well go with what he had started.

"You were annoying," he said.

Sakura froze and looked up at him in surprise.

"You still are," he muttered.

Sakura burst into laughter.

He smirked. For once, he wished he had a camera with him to capture that moment – the moment when she was happy because of him.

She sighed to calm herself and looked at him. "You're pretty annoying too, you know?"

He just looked at her – at her sparkling green eyes and joy-filled smile.

She shyly looked away. "Can we…be like this starting today?"

Sasuke sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

She looked up at him and smirked. "I'll take that as a yes."

Silence… A comfortable silence…

"So Konoha," she began. "That's where we live?"

The next time he ended up battered and wounded in that room, they were...friends.

"Hey!" she said, looking excited as she took her seat. "I brought you fruits," she said, placing a bag of apples, bananas, and oranges on the bedside table. "They're good for helping you heal faster." She started peeling one of the apples in a bowl.

He frowned, seeing the scene before – in the Konoha, just before he tricked Naruto into fighting him on the rooftop of the hospital.

She sliced the apples and offered them to him. He picked one up and stared at the fruit in his hand.

"You bite it," Sakura jested, smiling at him, before standing up to look at the long gash on his arm.

He looked up at her as she examined the wound. She began to clean it – Sasuke's nerves barely entertaining the sting of the antiseptic in his arm as his eyes took in her smiling face.

Everything had been different between them since he spoke to her. He found himself listening to her stories whenever he came back to the temple after finishing a mission. He found himself walking beside her almost everywhere she went. And he found himself answering some of her numerous questions in complete sentences.

Everything was going to take another turn though, Sasuke remembered. This particular day in the room was when he found himself too engulfed with nonsense to act sensibly.

When he decided to talk to her, he also thought, in the back of his mind, that the contact would tame the odd greedy feeling of longing he had been suffering since he saw her again – the urge to hold her close, to show her just how happy he was that she was alive…the urge to be with her.

At first, it worked. It made him feel lighter. But in the following times that she spent time with him, the urge resurfaced – his hand, his arm, his _body_ longing to feel what it felt when she held him against her.

And their distance when she examined his body for anything that would need medical treatment made it worse.

This was one of those instances.

Sasuke tried to keep his eyes from noticing Sakura's seductive silhouette that the kimono she wore had been trying to hide. He swallowed when she leaned forward to wind a bandage around the treated gash – the scent of her hair touching his nose, the heat from her body caressing his skin, and her green eyes… He wanted her eyes to look at him and only him.

She leaned closer, fate making it a challenge for her to fasten the bandage on his arm and for Sasuke to control his urges.

She finally secured the bandage and smiled. "Fina—"

Sasuke gave in, and he would forever remember how her lips felt against his own. He had shut his eyes to savor the moment. He knew she was staring wide-eyed at him, but to hell with it! He would endure her uppercut if he had to. He was _not_ going to regret it.

And she replied giving his lips the same pressure he gave hers.

He smirked. She was his.

Sasuke wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer and deepening the kiss. She did the same, wrapping her arm around his neck and moving to the bed – putting his waist between her knees.

The door creaked.

He felt Sakura's body grow tense, but he kept her close to him – not wanting to release her yet.

"Why do men have to be so idiotic?!" Keiko's voice echoed in the room. She was probably glowering at the floor. "I mean, he could have just told me he didn't get what I said! It's not like I'll _hate_ him or some—"

She saw them.

"—Thing," Keiko gasped.

Sasuke released Sakura – both of them out of breath.

"BYE!" Keiko shyly cried as she ran out the door and shut it loudly behind her.

Sakura cleared her throat – her cheeks scarlet as she sat down on his lap. "Um… I think I'll have to talk to Keiko," she said.

"Hn," he muttered, still holding her waist. Keiko deserved it. She should have knocked on the door first.

Sakura looked up at him – a frown on her face. She couldn't hold the expression though, not when Sasuke was smirking at her. "You're naughty," she muttered.

"Annoying," he muttered back.

Sakura smirked. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her head against his chest – her heart beating against his.

Sasuke closed his eyes, feeling the intimacy fill the empty space inside him.

After that, he would spend every evening in the temple in her arms, thanks to the elders who decided to kick her out of her bedroom saying it needed to be cleared for future guests. He knew that wasn't the reason though, especially when Houren winked at him right after the elders announced it.

Keiko had relayed the news, and they were more than happy to push him and Sakura's relationship further.

He would yearn for her warmth when he spent the evenings away in his missions. And he would dream of it when he was delirious.

* * *

A white ceiling… A blinding white ceiling… A blurred image of Naruto's face…

"TEME!"

Sasuke winced, Naruto's voice breaking his earlobes.

A dream… It was, of course, a dream. Sakura had regained her memories, and whatever they had before was gone. There was no way he would be sleeping in her arms again.

"What–the hell, Dob–e," Sasuke hissed – sounding too weak for his liking.

"You're finally awake!" Naruto excitedly said, standing beside him with the usual idiotic smile on his face.

Sasuke scrunched his nose.

Finally awake..?

"How long—"

"Two days," Kakashi answered, standing on his other side.

It was then that Sasuke realized he was on a bed, most likely a hospital gurney since the sheets were blinding his eyes. Add to that the image of an IV tube running from the back of his right hand to something above him – a dextrose hanging from a stand which would probably be located beside his bed.

Sasuke grunted.

…So much for making a _grand_ come-back.

"I've–been –ere for two days," Sasuke said, rather slurry. It must have been the shock of waking up from an extremely long sleep.

"You've only been here for a couple of hours," Kakashi answered. "We just got back."

Sasuke sighed and squinted to clear his vision.

"What–hap pend?" Sasuke muttered.

"We woke up around noon," Naruto said. "I think we all fell unconscious after Roku left. Every plant, insect and tree around the area where we met him was dead when we woke up! Then we saw you. We were so pale, and your lips were purple. You scared us! We thought you were dead! Luckily, you weren't. Ino gave you some first aid things and I carried you here to the hospital."

Sasuke sighed. He owed Naruto again.

"I'll get something for you to eat," Kakashi said, walking to the door. "You want anything in particular?"

Sasuke shook his head, giving him a headache. He winced.

"Can you get me some ramen too?" Naruto excitedly asked.

"Ramen it is," Kakashi said, closing the door behind him.

Sasuke took several deep breaths to calm him down. He opened his eyes and got a clearer view of his hospital room.

Naruto looked seriously at him. "You knew what that Roku was capable of," he said. "You tried to warn us about it."

Sasuke sighed.

"And that wall of Chidori," Naruto said. "You stopped him from draining our chakra."

Congratulations! Naruto had grown a bunch of brain cells!

"He really wasn't planning to kill you," Sasuke said, looking at the ceiling "He could have killed us all, with or without the wall."

Naruto frowned and looked away. "That's how strong he is?"

"With the relic, yes," Sasuke answered.

He was being too talkative. The elders must have adjusted his restrictions.

Naruto looked at Sasuke. "How did you meet him?"

"He was with Oda," Sasuke answered as he tried to sit up.

Naruto helped him up and sat back down on the chair beside Sasuke's bed. "And you spent a night together?"

Sasuke scowled and glared at Naruto.

"What..? I just want to know," Naruto said, shrugging his shoulders.

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"If you're really gay, Teme—"

"SHUT UP!" Sasuke hissed – gritting his teeth and glaring daggers at Naruto. "Roku's a lunatic!"

"So you didn't spend a night with him," Naruto said.

Sasuke sighed and looked away – his cheeks slightly a touch of pink. "I needed a place to stay," he muttered.

Naruto's jaw dropped. "Y –YOU _DID _SPEND A NIGHT WITH HIM!"

"I slept in a living room," Sasuke spat.

Oda was a civilized man. When he met Sasuke, he knew Sasuke would stand against his plan. But he chose to be civil enough to tell him why he wanted what he was aiming for, and what it could do for Sasuke.

It was Oda who told him there was a way to save Sakura using one of the relics. They were caught in the middle of a storm, with Roku guarding him. Oda told Sasuke everything. In exchange, Sasuke gave him a chance to explain his side – to trust them by spending the night in the house they were staying in that evening.

Sasuke frowned at the white blanket covering his legs.

The raiders acted as the limbs of the group – their hands. Why would Roku devour the raiders like they were of no use to them anymore? And Roku didn't kill Sasuke and the others. Of all the members of Oda's group, Roku was the most stubborn. He did what he wanted, which was usually killing people even just for the heck of it.

Sasuke was sure Roku was going to kill them – eat them alive and unconsciously fuse their decaying bodies with whatever was already rotting in his stomach. But lo and behold, he let them live. It didn't make sense.

Unless—

"Good," he heard someone say from the door. He looked up and saw Jirotaiku looking grimly at him – his arms folded over his chest. "You're back and you're awake. I have questions you need to answer."

"Hey!" Naruto said, standing up and glaring at Jirotaiku. "The doctor said he needs to rest first."

Jirotaiku ignored him and sat on Sasuke's bed. "Can Oda pull consciousness from a distance?" he asked.

Sasuke straightened his back, sensing something wrong had happened while they were away. "He can do more than that," he said.

Naruto looked at Sasuke and Jirotaiku, baffled as to what they were talking about. "Hey," he said, looking at Jirotaiku. "We heard ANBU caught some raiders too."

Sasuke raised a brow. "Really?" knowing the problem had something to do with the raiders Jirotaiku captured.

"They've been hibernating," Jirotaiku said, keeping his eyes on Sasuke like they were the only people in the room.

"Hibernating?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke sighed and looked away in thought. "Are they sealed off?" he asked.

"Yes," Jirotaiku answered.

"When was the last time you checked on them?" Sasuke asked, looking at Jirotaiku.

"This morning," Jirotaiku said. "The medics' tried to wake them up using a stimulant."

Sasuke shook his head and turned to Naruto. "Where did they confine the raiders we caught?"

"Y-Yeah, about that," Naruto said, scratching his head. "When we got back here and we surrendered them to ANBU, they were dead. We didn't know how it happened, but they seemed to have been…mummified."

Sasuke looked away. "They're cleaning up," he said.

"How many relics have you recovered?" Jirotaiku asked.

"Not the most important ones," Sasuke said.

"I'm assuming these 'important ones' are enough to endanger Konoha," Jirotaiku said.

Sasuke just looked at him.

"Wait—WHAT?!" Naruto exclaimed, staring at Sasuke.

Jirotaiku sighed in frustration and scratched his head. "We need Houren," he muttered, looking away.

"He's not allowed to cross the dimensional walls," Sasuke said.

"The elders then," Jirotaiku said, looking annoyed at Sasuke.

"They don't even want to see what's happening here," Sasuke replied.

"Well, we _need_ someone from _their_ side to fix this mess!" Jirotaiku exclaimed. "I thought they want this done and over with!"

"You're not the only one who's against this arrangement," Sasuke spat.

Naruto frowned and sat down on his chair. "Wait, so… They really won't help us? I mean, they won't literally lend us a hand?"

"No, they won't," Sasuke answered. "They think they've done enough to help us."

Naruto scowled. "Let's go back and drag them here then!"

Sasuke looked at Naruto. "I don't just go there and leave as I please," he said. "There are rules."

"Bend the freaking rules then," Jirotaiku said.

Sasuke looked at Jirotaiku. "I wouldn't be listening to your crap if I could," he said.

"But this is _their_ mess! They should at least be responsible enough to deal with this!" Naruto insisted.

Sasuke frowned at Naruto. "Their idea of being responsible for what's going on involves genocide," he said. "Remember that we're talking about beings that care less about humans."

Naruto and Jirotaiku stared surprised at Sasuke.

"You've bartered with them," Jirotaiku said.

Sasuke looked at Jirotaiku. "They want to wipe out everyone," he said. "I told them we can stop Oda –we'll just need their help and we'll fix this."

Jirotaiku smirked. "This coming from the man who instigated the most recent war in ninja history," he said. "You _have _changed."

Sasuke glared at Jirotaiku.

"So what kind of assistance are they giving us?" Naruto asked.

"Information," Sasuke answered.

"Sasuke the Devil," Jirotaiku said, nodding toward Sasuke.

Naruto raised a brow.

"You've been trained, right?" Jirotaiku asked, eyeing Sasuke.

Sasuke nodded and looked away. "It's not enough though," he said.

"Obviously," Jirotaiku said, rolling his eyes.

"Do Tsunade and the elders know?" Sasuke asked, glancing at Jirotaiku.

"I've warned the Hokage," Jirotaiku said. "She cleared the lower cells."

Sasuke sighed and leaned back on his pillow.

"So you're saying the raiders you caught are part of a trap?" Naruto asked, looking at Jirotaiku.

"They _are_ the trap," Jirotaiku answered. "If they're the kind that explodes or the kind that disperses a deadly virus, we don't know."

Naruto froze. "We should get them out of Konoha then!"

"Oda's not stupid like you," Jirotaiku said, glancing at Naruto. "He knows what's going on. And if he doesn't, he has enough people to make sure everything is going as planned. If we send a team to transport those raiders, there's a possibility that the transport would trigger whatever those raiders are supposed to be."

Naruto frowned and folded his arms over his chest. "You're sure about this?" he asked.

"What else would explain the fact that we were assigned to the wrong group of raiders?" Jirotaiku asked. "It's a trap, and we fell for it. And with Roku seeing Sasuke with you, I'm sure they also know that we've found out about their trap. Whoever makes the wrong move now loses the game."

"What if that's not the case?" Naruto asked.

Jirotaiku grinned evilly at Naruto. "Roku will be here to kill us all."

* * *

Oda placed his hand on Roku's plump stomach – the tattoos on Roku's skin crawling to touch his palm and glowing in various hues of blue.

Hikaru watched Oda's pale cheeks turn a shade pinker.

Oda lifted his hand away from Roku and sat up – the light still creeping into his veins.

"You never were one to listen, Hikaru," Oda said, chuckling.

Hikaru frowned.

Roku chuckled. "Nonsense!" he said. "It was a coincidence, really. I honestly didn't know they were there."

Oda chuckled back. "At least you didn't kill them," he said. "I'd be upset with both of you if you did."

"We wouldn't like that now, would we?" Roku said, winking at Hikaru.

Hikaru sighed and rolled his eyes. "Do you have news?"

"Of course!" Roku said, taking a seat at the end of Oda's bed. "Uchiha's back."

"Yes," Hikaru said, looking bored. "…Aside from that."

Roku smiled widely. "I got word from Yon," he said. "We're in!"

"In..?" Hikaru asked, excitement sparking in his eyes. "You mean we've infiltrated Konoha?"

Roku winked at him. "You got it," he said. "I told you it's as easy as pie!"

Oda smiled. "Sasuke and that other boy know this too now, yes?"

"Most probably," Roku said. "But they won't be too stupid enough to move our anchor, not when they know we're on standby now."

Oda nodded. "This is good," he said. "And the others…? Are they in position?"

"Last time I checked, Go is still cleaning up. But he'll be in position in no time," Roku answered. "Ichi's just waiting for the signal."

Oda sighed – a relieved smile on his face. "Too bad the elders are too close minded," he said.

Hikaru smirked. "Shall I proceed with step one?"

Oda looked at him. "Yes," he said. "We might as well start the party."

Roku clapped his hands. "I want to see _this_," he said.

Oda smiled and looked at Hikaru. "Bring me the mirror."

* * *

"What kind of measures had they taken?" Sasuke asked, sitting on the bed.

"They've moved them to your cell," Jirotaiku answered.

Sasuke looked away in thought.

He still remembered what his cell looked like – a tightly enclosed cave in the depths of the village, which had a thick solid steel door. How it was properly insulated remained a mystery, but if there was a way for oxygen to get in and out of the room—

"It's not enough," Sasuke said.

"Not enough..?" Naruto asked, sitting on his chair and looking confused at Sasuke. He was also familiar with Sasuke's cell. He visited it once before, when Sasuke was unconscious.

How would a cell that secure not be enough to protect Konoha from the raiders? According to what he heard from the ANBU, the cell was made like a bomb shelter, except it was ready to withstand any extreme outbursts of chakra, especially attacks from Sasuke.

"They've also placed seals on the hallway," Jirotaiku continued.

Sasuke shook his head. "It's not going to hold. Where are the ANBU stationed?"

* * *

Through the hidden doors of Konoha prison, down the twists and turns of the dark hallways, passed the group of ANBU stationed at a massive steel gate that lead to a long stack of steps to a deep underground tunnel, at the very end of the long stone cave-like burrow, through the tiniest slits between the steel door, and into the cell where fifteen raiders lie on the floor, black smoke emerged from each man's nostrils.

The raiders' eyes opened releasing black smog into the air. More smoke rose from their ears and from every pore of their skin, filling the ceiling with a swirling black fog. The bodies of the raiders began to rot – to shrink into mummified corpses until they turned to dust.

The smoke, seeming like it had a life of its own, flew through the tiniest holes between the steel gate and the cell opening. It crept up through the tunnel, causing the black seals placed there for protection to smolder and turn to dust.

The smoke-filled the tunnel, like a giant serpent crawling out of its hole.

* * *

A loud explosion echoed in the village – smoke rising from where Konoha prison was located.

Sasuke, Jirotaiku, and Naruto froze, staring at the window and the smoke rising up the blue sky.

Sasuke cursed.

"Please tell me that's just an accident," Jirotaiku muttered.

Sasuke turned to Naruto and Jirotaiku. "WE HAVE TO EVACUATE EVERYONE!"


	14. Chapter 14

A loud deafening howl echoed in the village.

The Chunnin took charge of evacuating women and children to safety. The Jounin and ANBU were positioned around the burning prison building.

Every able ninja prepared for war.

Sasuke stared at the rising smoke from the confines of his hospital room.

The medic ninjas were evacuating patients but he opted to stay in his room. He should feel better soon and he should be in the battle field with Naruto and the others.

"Any recommendations..?" Sasuke heard Kakashi's voice echo from behind him.

"Make sure you have people at the gates," Sasuke answered, still observing the smoke rising from the burning building.

The explosion didn't seem to release any poison. Nor did it release any form of savage troops. It just slowly rose up to the heavens. But Sasuke couldn't help but think that fact meant something more menacing was looming.

The event itself had shattered Konoha's sense of security after all.

"I'll be in the main gate," Kakashi said, walking out of the room.

"I'm going with you," Sasuke said, following Kakashi. It was a good thing they didn't change his clothes into a hospital gown.

* * *

"You just do what I taught you to do," Houren whispered, looking intently at Keiko.

Keiko looked anxious at him. "Isn't that forbidden?"

"The elders are surveying the land," Houren reasoned.

"…But their specters!"

"They _adore_ you, just as much as they adore Sakura," Houren hissed. "Just check if Sasuke and his peers are still breathing!"

It was around noon when a thick dark cloud began to fill the Seiiki sky. For anyone familiar of weather changes, it was a sign that a storm was coming. But for anyone who had spent most of their existence in Seiiki, it meant something was terribly wrong.

And Houren was feeling uneasy.

There was one other thing the elders and Sasuke left out when they told Naruto and his friends about the fuss with the relics. Sasuke didn't want to leave it out, but the elders were stringent with releasing information that they believed shouldn't concern humans.

People in Seiiki had been contracting illnesses – various kinds of illnesses. None of them were fatal at the moment. But people in Seiiki weren't supposed to fall ill. Hell, Houren never even contracted a cold!

That was because their existence relied mostly on the chakra of their environment. Sure they ate food like humans, but food wasn't their only source of energy.

Falling ill meant a failure to fully replenish one's energy or chakra supply. It meant their physical bodies didn't have enough energy to fix themselves of whatever illness they were about to have.

At first, they thought Seiiki was losing chakra, which was crap since energy was never lost only reused into other forms. This made the elders decide on conducting regular rounds across the realm – checking if the problem the people of Seiiki was experiencing was also happening in other territories.

They confirmed that whatever was happening in Seiiki was happening in other countries.

The elders had their immediate subordinates investigate on the state of the chakra in the realm. And to their surprise, they found something wrong with the chakra. It was as if someone placed a poison in the chakra emanating from the environment. There were imbalances in the chakra particles sustaining the realm.

The last time such imbalances happened was when Oda's father crossed the dimensional barrier and performed a forbidden jutsu fusing the realms together, causing chakra from Sasuke's world to react with chakra from Houren's world.

But what was happening seemed more slow and gradual than what happened with the jutsu Oda's father performed. It was as if someone was just puncturing tiny scattered holes in a pie to slowly releasing pressure and steam into the air.

Why would anyone try to release particles from Seiiki into another realm though? The answer, they soon discovered as Sasuke relayed his news on the last artifact, concerned the relics that were transported through the dimensional barrier.

Sasuke's world limited Houren's abilities because the particles in its environment were different from what Houren was used to. Sure, Houren would still be powerful enough, but he wouldn't be as powerful as he was in Seiiki. Chakra particles in the human world also proved to be poison to Houren's kind.

Houren was only able to stay in the human world for three weeks. After that, his physical body disintegrated into pure chakra – his true state. And he was forced to go back to Seiiki to regain control over his actuality.

It wasn't until he planted the Anrui flower from Azumaryu's garden that he was able to keep his physical form in the human world for a prolonged period of time. The "tears" the Anrui flower shed were chakra particles from Seiiki. It transformed the barren mountain top into a sanctuary for Houren.

The relics, though activated by blood sacrifices, wouldn't be as powerful if it was used outside Houren's realm unless for example, the chakra particles from Seiiki were spilled in the human world. Only Azumaryu kept Anrui flower plants. It was highly forbidden to take even a leaf of them. Whoever dared was charred by Azumaryu's specters.

How would anyone have access to chakra particles in Houren's world? All the existing portals had been sealed. Then the news of Oda crossing dimensions without using portals surfaced. One of Shirayuri's researches concerned opening portals to the human world so she could see her human. The study wasn't finished though, and problems with contaminating chakra particles were noted in her journals.

The temple opened a clinic since hospitals weren't much of a fad in Seiiki. The elders took in Kaitaro and Keiko from the human world partly because they were still Houren's kin, and partly because they needed doctors to man the clinic. Then Sakura came. Kaitaro taught her the ways in the clinic. She easily learned them all and later became the second head doctor in the facility.

More people in the territories fell ill as the "chakra poisoning" worsened. Kaitaro was sent to open clinics in other villages. Sakura trained more hands in the clinic with Keiko.

When they opened the clinic, people sick with colds and fever filled its halls. Before Sasuke began his quest for the relics, the illness started to vary from flu to pneumonia. For the past week, the illnesses patients suffered included severe viral infections and organ malfunctions.

That noon, the relevantly stable chakra particles that also kept the weather in Seiiki constant had crossed the line of volatility. Massive grey clouds Houren presumed to bear extremely contaminated chakra particles loomed over the village.

Things obviously had gotten worse on the other side of the fence.

So Houren tried to persuade Keiko into sending a two-way message to Sasuke through Azumaryu's well. Since Houren was "grounded," he wasn't allowed to go near the well. Keiko, though, was free to do as she pleased except go back to the human world without the elders' and her father's permission.

"What if Azumaryu-sama finds out?" Keiko asked.

"It's a necessary evil!" Houren hissed. "If this much poison is seeping into Seiiki, then something terrible is going on across the fence!"

Keiko sighed and looked away, thinking about what she should do.

She knew her great grandfather had a point. If the situation had indeed worsened, they had to check if Sasuke and the others were still alive, and if they were still capable of handling the situation.

But the elders made it clear to Keiko that they didn't want anyone else to get do anything about the problem without their knowledge.

Keiko glanced at the door that led to Sakura's room. Houren cornered her in the hallway after she tried to persuade Sakura to eat her lunch.

"Well..?" Houren asked.

Keiko looked up at Houren. "We have how many minutes to do this?" she asked. Her father was in the clinic and he was expecting to see her in the clinic right after she gave Sakura her lunch food.

Houren smirked. "He's my grandson," he said. "He'll do whatever I tell him to do. Just come back when you're done."

Keiko nodded and quickly sprinted to Azumaryu's garden.

* * *

Sasuke gazed at the smoke from the roof of a building.

He was on his way to the main gate when he decided to look at the smoke again, just to see if something else happened.

Firefighters were putting out the flames devouring the prison building. Other than the scent of wood burning, nothing was amiss.

Sasuke frowned.

Was it all a joke? Was Oda trying to mock Konoha's strength and security?

Oda already _had_ though, hadn't he? This feat just proved how easy it would be for him to cross Konoha's strict defense structure.

Nothing else was happening though – the smoke was just rising up from the flames. And no one was dropping dead in a whiff of the smoke, not that Sasuke wanted to see anyone in the village dying because of what happened.

But the image of the smoke rising slowly irked something in him. In the back of his mind was a thought – a theory that what he was watching wasn't just smoke from the burning prison building. It was something… _more._

Sasuke looked around, spotting Shikamaru and his team of Chunnin surveying an area of the village with a group of ANBU. Ino was also on the move with a group of medic ninjas. Naruto and Sai stood with the ninjas around the pyre – tense and ready to fight whatever emerged from the flames. He was sure Neji, Kiba, Shino and Chouji were busy on their own red alert tasks.

Was it enough to save Konoha though? Somehow he felt that all the preparations weren't enough.

A cold breeze touched his shoulder. He turned around and saw images flash in his thoughts – a dark cloud looming over Seiiki, devouring the mountains and the nearby territories… Sakura still in her room staring at the dark clouds… the elders leaving to investigate on what was going on…The line of villagers in the clinic… People coughing out blood…

Sasuke froze. He knew what the smoke rising from the prison building was for.

He looked back at the smoke and noticed it spreading over Konoha.

"Chikushou," he hissed.

"What is it?" Kakashi asked, sprinting to his side.

Sasuke looked at Kakashi. "That's not the enemy," he said, pointing to the smoke. "That's just a tool! We need to move the defenses to the village walls!"

Another explosion rocked the village, coming from the far south side of Konoha.

Sasuke and Kakashi froze for a moment.

"Go advice the Hokage," Kakashi quickly said before sprinting to the smoke emerging from the south side of the village.

Sasuke sprinted to the Hokage tower. He was leaping in mid air to the next roof top when he heard the bell dangling from his ear sing.

* * *

"When the hell would he ever learn to play his part on time?" Roku muttered, frowning at the mirror in Oda's hand – smoke filling its surface.

Oda chuckled. "Shi was just a few counts away anyway," he said.

Hikaru rolled his eyes. "You tolerate imbeciles too much," he said.

Oda smiled at Hikaru. "They make the world an interesting place," he said.

Roku watched the smoke clear on the mirror and smirked. "Looks like he'll be enjoying this one," he said.

* * *

The mirror showed a thin man yawning as he sat on the ground.

When Kakashi arrived at the scene, a group of ANBU was already unconscious on the ground.

"What happened?" he asked an ANBU guard huffing beside him.

"He just appeared out of nowhere," the ANBU responded. "One of us asked why he was there and the next thing we knew, we were flying off of our posts."

Kakashi looked grimly at the man sitting in front of the Konoha stone fence. The man was stretching his long limbs and ruffling his long brown hair.

"You're very rude people," the man said, looking bored at Kakashi. "The least you can do to a guest is let him in."

"Who are you?" Kakashi asked. He sensed Gai approaching from behind him with Lee and Shikamaru.

"Questions again?" the man asked. "And it didn't concern offering me a drink or something to eat! Rubbish," he muttered.

"What do you want from Konoha?" Gai questioned, standing beside Kakashi.

"Wow," the man said. "You think your village is so damn precious I want something from it? Idiots!"

Gai frowned.

Lee, standing beside Gai, glared at the man. "You have no right to talk to Gai-sensei that way!" he shouted.

The man glanced at him, then at Gai. "And I thought Roku and _I_ were weird."

Kakashi and Shikamaru narrowed their eyes at the man at the sound of Roku's name. Lee raised his brows.

"You're with Roku," Shikamaru calmly said.

Gai glanced at Lee.

"We fought him," Lee muttered.

The man looked at Shikamaru. "Ah, you must be the brats he played with," he said. "I guess that means you're going to play with me too, huh?"

Shikamaru leaped down from the stone wall and landed on the ground, facing the man. "So you want to get inside Konoha," he said.

The man shrugged his shoulder. "It wasn't a dream of mine, trust me," he said. "I just have things to do."

"Like destroy our village?!" Lee angrily asked. He leaped down from the wall and landed a few steps away from Shikamaru. He quickly went to a fighting stance. "Dream on," he hissed.

"Eh?" the man said, quirking a brow. "Just these kids?" he asked, glancing at Kakashi and Gai. "Seriously?"

"We can handle this, Gai-sensei!" Lee shouted, glaring harder at the man.

"Che," the man muttered, smirking. "You don't know what you're saying, brat."

Shikamaru watched the man carefully. He really didn't seem fazed.

Lee smirked. "Try getting past us first," he said.

The man chuckled and slowly stood up. He was about to step forward when he realized he couldn't move his limbs. He frowned and looked down at his feet.

There were no ropes, no chains, no strings… Just a shadow—

The man looked up at Shikamaru.

Shikamaru kept his calm demeanor – his hands tucked in his pocket.

Lee smirked. "Check," he said before attacking the man. He vanished after leaping into the air.

Then the sound of knuckles hitting flesh echoed – the man falling back and forth several times until blood started streaming down his skin.

The ANBU watched as Lee inflicted kick and fist blows to the man's jaw, abdomen, and limbs in almost the speed of light.

"Lee," Shikamaru called.

Lee reappeared beside him, slightly huffing from the feat.

The man stood bruised and bleeding. He still couldn't move his limbs. He looked up at Shikamaru and smirked – blood spilling down the side of his lip.

Lee glared at the man. An ordinary enemy would have fainted in his blows – bones broken in several places.

Could he be a relic holder? If so, was his ability to survive through Lee's attack his relic's power?

"You got skills, kid," the man told Shikamaru. "Too bad you're fighting on the wrong side." The man then turned to Lee. "Same goes for you, brat."

Lee raised a brow at the man.

He seemed too composed for a man who had been cornered for defeat.

The man sighed. "Sadly," he said. "This is life."

Kakashi noticed the sky darken. He glanced at the smoke from the prison building fire and saw how it had somehow devoured the blue sky.

The man smiled. "I suggest you old ones move to the west side of your little rat hole," he said. "That is of course, if you still want to fight for your village."

Gai was about to retort when they heard an explosion coming from the west side of the village. He and Kakashi stiffened.

The man chuckled. "See?" he said. "I just gave you a hint."

Gai glared at the man. "Lee—"

"Don't worry, Gai-sensei," Lee said. "We can handle this." The ANBU guards who had recovered from the attack stood beside Shikamaru and Lee – all of them prepared for a fight.

Gai nodded. He and Kakashi vanished, leaving gusts of smoke in their wake.

"Now where were we?" the man said. "Ah, yes – the part where I show you just how unfortunate you are. Really, you should have picked another enemy to fight."

Lee tried not to look daunted. "You seem to be forgetting where you are," he said.

The man chuckled. "Oh no, brat," he said. "_You_ seem to be forgetting where you are, which is to put it simply – _exactly_ where I want you to be."

Before Lee could ask what he meant, he noticed the air in front of his face grow tense and mold into the man's smirking face. The face flew toward him. The next thing he felt was a solid blow to his insides and his back hitting the concrete wall.

Lee fell down on the ground, coughing out blood – his insides burning. He glanced at his surroundings and saw the ANBU guards on the ground – their masks shattered – and throwing up blood. He looked up at Shikamaru and saw him on his knees. Across from him was the man, kneeling as Shikamaru did. But he had a proud smile on his face.

Shikamaru coughed and wiped the blood from the side of his lips.

"Tell me now, boy," he said. "How will you defeat something intangible?"

"You _have_ to be kidding me," Lee hissed.

* * *

Houren ran into one of the guest rooms with a boy coughing out blood in his arms.

Just as he expected, more people fell ill as the cloud devoured the heavens. Thunder rumbled in the sky – sparks of lightning rolling in the clouds.

He placed the child on the bed. The boy's mother followed behind him, sobbing and fearing for the life of her son. The boy's father had fallen into a comma just a week ago. And the mother had contracted a flu.

Houren walked away to let the nurses take over. He took a deep breath and headed to the hallway where more people were being rushed into the guest rooms.

The clinic ran out of enough space for the new patients being rushed into the facility. Houren decided to open the guest rooms of the west wing to the patients. The new rooms were quickly filled up though, with servants having to prepare sleeping mats on the floor to accommodate the number of patients needing urgent assistance.

Houren walked down the hallway. Coughing sounds, cries of ailing infants, and screams of pain echoed in the walls of the temple. The scent of blood was touching his nose. Skins turning pale and purple, and cloths turning scarlet caught his eyes.

It was like Nanashi village all over again, only worse. Sure the scene in Nanashi was more gruesome since their skin was exploding. But this was worse because it wasn't just a village that was suffering – it was several territories – millions of people falling terribly ill.

"I know you sent her to check on Sasuke," Kaitaro's voice broke Houren's train of thought.

Houren turned around to face his grandson. If Kaitaro looked ten years older than Houren before, he looked thirty years older than Houren at that moment.

"They might need more than just Sasuke," Kaitaro said – exhaustion and anxiety reflecting in his gaze.

"The elders won't send me," Houren said. "You know that."

Kaitaro sighed and nodded his head. "Is there really nothing else that we can do?"

Houren looked away and headed for another hallway. "I'll tell Keiko to help you here."

Kaitaro looked sadly at Houren. He knew the frustration his great grandfather was feeling.

* * *

"They're in deep _shit_ back there," Keiko said, wiping the tears from her eyes as she stood in front of her great grandfather in the hallway.

She was on her way to the clinic when Houren saw her and asked her how Sasuke and his friends were doing.

"Watch it," Houren said. "I don't remember giving you permission to talk trash."

Keiko nodded. "Sorry," she whispered. "It's just that… The smoke was _so_ huge and scary! And the people _burned_ in that building!"

Houren doubted anyone got burned there though. Based on the description Keiko gave, he deduced that Oda punctured a huge hole in the dimensional barrier and covered it up by setting the prison building ablaze.

Keiko looked up at Houren. "Do you think they need help?"

"It's not like any of us can go there and help them kick butts," Houren said, looking grimly away.

Silence filled the hall for a moment.

"Go help your father in the clinic," Houren finally said, walking away.

"Where are you going?" Keiko asked, staring confused at her great grandfather. "Shouldn't you help us in the clinic too?"

"Oh I'll help you," Houren said, not sparing Keiko a glance. "...Just not in the clinic."

Keiko watched Houren vanish into the hall.

* * *

"The threat hasn't crossed the walls," Sasuke said, following the Hokage as she walked through the halls of the tower. She called a quick meeting for Ibiki and the remaining Jounin to re-arrange the ninja deployments.

Aside from the ANBU guards and other ninja within village positioned to fight the enemy that they were expecting to emerge from the burning prison building, they also had Konoha ninjas who were expected to return from their missions outside the village. They had to be informed on what was going on, but they couldn't just send out messengers. ANBU guards had reported sightings of possible enemies around the village walls.

"…But they _will_ get through if we don't deploy the strongest ninjas around the walls," Sasuke continued. "We also have to stop the smoke from rising into the air."

"We can deploy ninjas, sure," Tsunade said keeping her eyes on the halls as she headed to meeting room. "But stopping the massive smog of foreign chakra particles Uchiha? How on earth do we do that? You're asking us to stop air from flowing. We've received reports saying none of our jutsu could stop the fire, much less control the smoke!"

"I'm saying you prioritize this matter," Sasuke spat. "I'm not saying I know just how to clean this up!"

Tsunade glared at him. "Then talk to me when you make more _sense_," she said. She turned away.

Sasuke frowned and glared at her back. "I'll need ten ninjas capable of learning a complex sealing technique in two minutes."

Tsunade looked at him. "Thankfully, I can name a handful."

"Add the ability to survive a doujutsu," Sasuke said.

"What?!" Tsunade asked, raising a brow at Sasuke.

"I need people who can survive a Tsukuyomi," Sasuke said.

"WHAT THE HELL, UCHIHA!"

Sasuke remained unfazed. "It's the only way to train them in two minutes."

* * *

"Sasuke is dying," Houren said, looking accusingly at Sakura.

Sakura looked confused at him.

Houren barged into her room with a grim expression on his face. The darkness that filled the room caused by the rumbling grey sky didn't help the situation.

"He set out to get what can help you see the truth since you're too weak to save yourself and realize how much he cares about you," Houren said. "Sasuke, Naruto and your other friends are faced are now in danger. And _no one,_ not even me, can help them. You can consider them dead by the end of the day."

A blanket of tears moistened Sakura's shocked green eyes.

"You can help them, you know?" Houren said. "We've taught you enough to save them. But wait! You would rather kill yourself than save them, right? Oh well…" Houren turned away and walked to the door. "I'll send their corpses flowers in your behalf. Lilies, right?"

He then walked out the hall, locking the door behind him.

If that trick didn't break her insanity, then there was only one other way to help clean things up.

Oda's plan was materializing. Sadly it wasn't anything he and the elders expected to see.

Houren bit his lips as he quickly crossed the threshold of the temple's east wing. It led to the part of the temple he made sure _never_ to visit again. But desperate times called for desperate measures.

The elders weren't planning on breaking another rule. They were too hell bent on keeping everyone from their world from crossing to the other realm for fear of being corrupted by the human race, to consider how the situation was proving to be fatal for inhabitants of both worlds.

Houren glanced behind him, making sure no one, not even the elders' specters, was in the area. If the elders learned that he even dared to pass the place, he would be sanctioned. They would probably lock him up in his room.

He smirked.

…Like _that_ will keep him from his escapades.

But it's not like the elders would resort to spanking him. He wasn't a kid anymore.

After making sure he wasn't being followed, he walked swiftly forward to the long deserted hall of the temple.

How many years had passed since he last visited the place? A centennial..? A century..? A millennium..?

"Hou-kun," a familiar gentle voice echoed in his thoughts.

Houren kept walking, his steps a little swifter than before. He fixed his gaze at the dark end of the hall cradled by gloom memories and broken dreams. It was now covered by a massive velvet curtain – hiding it from anyone who might have dared to see if it was still there.

"Hou-kun, hurry," the voice echoed.

Houren closed his eyes and winced – various images flooding his thoughts.

The smiling face of a girl with round gray eyes… strands of white hair dancing in the breeze… a soft warm hand grasping his…

Houren opened his eyes and saw the scarlet drapes just a few steps away from him. He looked behind him again.

He knew that no one was there but out of habit, he checked again.

"This is my secret place," the voice whispered – excitement and cheer lacing its words. "And now, it's yours to keep now too."

Houren turned to face the scarlet drapes and stopped just a step away from it. He knew the elders had sealed it. And once the seal was broken, he would only have five minutes to do what he came to do.

Houren lifted his hand – his grey eyes glowing white.

His father was chosen to be a king for a reason, and he inherited that reason.

White light engulfed Houren – his chakra seeping through the walls, creating white wisps of rising smoke. It crept to the hallway, filling it with his presence.

Houren's skin melted in the light – his clothes smoldering into nothing. It was in this shapeless form that Houren crossed the scarlet drapes. The wisps remained in the hallway – Houren's specters breathing and for the first time in a million years, at work.

Houren materialized at the room beyond the scarlet drapes, fully clothed and feeling more determined than before.

His eyes slowly took in the glum room – an old spacious library situated in the seventh floor of the east wing tower that had been locked away from the world.

He glanced at the door behind him and saw a wall in its place.

The elders had indeed locked the room away.

Houren carefully walked further into the room – the soft carpets caressing his feet, welcoming him. The scent of old scrolls and ancient pages touched his nose reminding him what he missed for the past centuries.

The old wooden table was still in the center of the room. The walls were still filled with shelves stuffed with books and scrolls. The windows were covered with the same sunny drapes she loved.

Houren looked up at the ceiling, expecting to see the mural he painted with her and saw the lifelike painting of Seiiki's landscape.

"I just lie on the carpet, look at the painting, and I feel so much better," the voice sighed in Houren's thoughts.

Yes.

Houren waved his hand to the ceiling – wisps of white smoke rising to touch the painting. It soon began to breathe. The gentle sweet scent of the blossoms on the painting filling the room… The refreshing breeze blowing into the room and making the clouds on the painting move… The birds and butterflies flying down from the image to perch on the books, the tables, the drapes, and the shelves…

Houren smiled. The grey cloud had only covered Seiiki's blue sky for several hours. But he already missed the real sky of his home. He walked to one of the giant shelves.

"I found something," she whispered in his ear. "But you can't tell anyone."

He saw two white-haired children in front of the shelf.

"I saw a door," the taller child – a girl, said. "I met a human."

"A human..?" the shorter child – a boy replied. "Isn't it forbidden to meet humans?"

"But he was kind!" the girl excitedly said. "And he was lost. Oda-kun and I helped him get home."

"But it's wrong," the boy whispered.

"When was caring for someone wrong?" the girl asked.

"You let him get the artifacts?!" Houren heard his voice echo from behind him.

"He wanted to find a way to be with me!" a woman, _the_ woman said. "Hou-kun he—_I_ need to be with him."

"He's a _human!_" his voice echoed. "…A useless, selfish, self-destructive freak of creation! Am I not enough to be your family?!"

"That's not what I meant," she said, sounding desperate. "I love you, Hou-kun. You're my family but … I love him too! It's a different love. But it doesn't mean that I love you less. It's… It's just that I… You won't understand—"

"I understand," Houren said, raising his hand to touch the wooden shelf – the memories fading into the air. "I fully understand now."

White wisps crept away from his hand, fogging the shelves.

"Will you ever forgive me?" she whispered. No. She _pleaded._

"Tell me," Houren said, ordering the shelves. "How you kill an elder."

* * *

"I'm heading to the main gate," Naruto told Sai, seeing that there was enough ninja to fight whoever would emerge in the smoke.

Sai nodded and remained in his post.

Naruto turned around and rushed away from the scene, only to see a boy standing by the side of the road and looking at the massive smoke.

"OI!" he called, walking to the boy.

The boy looked up at him with his black round eyes. His pale skin reminded him of Sai and his long dark hair reminded him of Sasuke. He looked no older than ten.

"You shouldn't be here, kid!" he said. "Where are your parents?"

The boy only looked innocently at him.

"Shannaro!" Naruto said, scratching his head. "Come on! I'll take you to the safe place," he said, lifting the boy on his back.

The boy looked curiously at Naruto's anxious face.

"Hold on tight, okay?" Naruto said, before he leaped up into the air and started jumping from one roof top to another.

The boy looked out at the village, enjoying the view the ride was giving him.

"Neh," Naruto said. "I haven't seen you around here before. What's your name?"

The boy smiled. "Ichi," he said. "My name is Ichi. You're Uzumaki Naruto, right?"


	15. Chapter 15

_My sincere apologies. I've been terribly busy for the past weeks (still am actually). I'll try to update this story as soon as I can. __  
_

_Thank you all so much for still reading and looking forward to the succeeding events in this story _* v *

* * *

Kakashi and Gai sprinted to the west wall, already spotting the massive cloud of smoke rising up the sky in front of them.

They saw a troop of ANBU flying toward their direction as if something massive hurled the group up in the air.

Gai quickly leaped higher, catching every ANBU he could reach. Kakashi did the same, noting the puzzling scent in the air.

"Rotten eggs..?" Gai said, landing beside him with unconscious ANBU ninjas in his arms and shoulders.

"Sulfur," Kakashi said, carrying his fair share of fallen ANBU guards.

"Dra—g—on," coughed the bleeding ANBU on Kakashi's left shoulder.

Kakashi glanced sharply at him. "Dragon..?"

"What..?" Gai asked, raising a brow at Kakashi.

Kakashi looked up ahead and noticed a shadow amidst the rising cloud of smoke. His exposed eye went wide in shock.

And sure enough a bone-cringing growl filled the air.

"Is that," Gai began – eyes staring shocked at the shadow. "Is that what I think it is?"

Kakashi put the ANBU guards he was holding down on the roof. "Get them to safety," he said before summoning a pack of dogs to help Gai transport the wounded ANBU. "I'll check it out."

Gai and Kakashi sprinted away from the roof – Gai with the pack carrying the casualties to the nearest group of medic ninjas, and Kakashi armed with a kunai to the smoke emerging from the west wall.

Gai glanced back at Kakashi, watching his long-time rival disappear in the smoke.

He wanted to stay and confront the enemy, but Kakashi was right in ordering him to prioritize the wounded ANBU guards.

"I'll be back," Gai said, narrowing his eyes in the smoke before dramatically leaping down the building with the pack.

Kakashi winced as the smoke stung his eye. He hunched in a defensive stance, trying to sense the enemy. He could feel heat scorch the skin underneath his clothing. He sensed a presence looming over him. But the smog was too thick to give him a glimpse of the enemy.

He felt the air around him tense and immediately hurled his kunai in front of him, leaping up in the air to avoid an attack.

Sure enough the thick dark smog was split in two – his kunai clicking against something hard.

Kakashi felt the air behind him tense and quickly hurled a chidori in the direction of the shifting wind. He saw the burst of lightning explode—heard its sparks crackle in the smog…

He hit something, didn't he?

"Good," he heard a soft voice whisper against his ear as he landed his feet on the edge of the village wall. He stiffened he felt the presence of an intense chakra seeping into his veins.

"But not good enough," the voice teasingly whispered again before Kakashi saw a massive steel blade pierce his torso from behind.

* * *

"That's all you can do?" the man in crouched in front of Shikamaru asked, chuckling.

Shikamaru and Lee were crouched on the floor, coughing out blood on the floor.

While the man's body was bound in Shikamaru's shadow, his ethereal form attacked Shikamaru and Lee – each blow seemingly hitting only their internal organs.

"I expected more from Konoha ninjas," the man said. "Then again, this is the first time you've fought with a ghost."

Lee slammed his fist on the ground. "I'M NOT GIVING UP!" he shouted. He looked at the man and slowly forced his legs to support his weight.

There _had_ to be a way to stop the man. Ghost or no ghost, they should defeat the enemy and protect Konoha's citizens.

Lee poised to attack the man again using his strong fist again. The man had been keeping him from performing his taijutsu by attacking him before Lee could launch his fists.

Perhaps he can hit the man's ethereal form. If it can hit Lee and Shikamaru's physical forms, it was possible that Lee can also hit the man's ethereal form, right?

Fuelled by this hypothesis, Lee narrowed his eyes at the man.

He would have to move faster than he already did. It would be a challenge though, since his insides were bleeding and sore.

Shikamaru sat up, heaving for breath as he glanced at Lee. He knew what Lee was thinking and it was the right thing to do.

"Another dance?" the man asked seated as Shikamaru was. "Fine. Come and dance with me once more."

Lee attacked, vanishing into the air. He sprinted around the man, leaping from one direction to another to find a blind spot.

The man smirked, glancing in every direction Lee paused in his quick run around him. "I can see you," he chimed.

Lee quickened his pace more and attacked from behind the man – his fist aimed at the man's spine. But before he could hit the man, Lee felt a strong blow pushing his torso back and sending him flying into the air.

Lee bounced and slid violently on the ground, scraping his exposed skin on the rocky soil. He coughed out blood again, cursing himself for missing the attack. He forced himself to look up – to think of another way to defeat the man.

To his surprise, he saw the man's body surrounded by shadow tentacles stemming from Shikamaru's shadow.

The man's face was painted with shock – his proud gaze suddenly wide and frozen with astonishment and horror.

Shikamaru spit blood on ground and wiped the blood streaming down the side of his lips, feeling a tad bit composed than a few seconds ago.

The shadow tentacles pulled back, retreating into Shikamaru's shadow, to reveal the kunai it plunged into the man's flesh.

Lee caught sight of a tagged kunai and quickly crouched down.

Sure enough, a series of explosions rocked the ground – smoke with the scent of charred flesh and burning paper clouding the air.

Lee lifted his head up to see the carnage as the smoke ebbed away. He froze at the sight of the man's blood-drenched body – his jaw dropping on the ground.

Parts of the neck, chest, sides, legs and arms were torn away.

Shikamaru was on his feet, slightly slouched and eyeing the mangled body on the ground.

Lee stood up, forcing his limbs to support his weight. He looked at Shikamaru and smiled.

How Shikamaru was able to plunge the kunai and the explosive tags on the enemy before the man could attack was beyond him. But Lee was proud and happy that Konoha was rid of a threat.

"Good job!" Lee said, raising his thumb up to Shikamaru.

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes at the mangled corpse.

The question of the man echoed in his thoughts once more as he stared at what supposedly remained of their enemy.

_How will you defeat something intangible?_

…By beating the tangible thing that it was springing from.

It was a long metaphysical debate, but Shikamaru decided to act on the hunch before he and Lee ended up dead.

His plan seemed to have worked perfectly, but victory still seemed to have approached them too easily – not that he would complain if they _had_ defeated the annoyingly troublesome man.

It had been five… eight seconds..? And the body remained a corpse.

So maybe Shikamaru's plan really worked.

Lee began to walk to Shikamaru. "Let's—"

"Uchiha didn't tell you, did he?" a familiar voice echoed in the air – the voice of the man they had just killed.

Shikamaru and Lee froze.

The mangled corpse slowly stood up – the mangled flesh melting into itself… repairing the torn tissues and broken bones to the point that the man looked like he just had his clothes trashed and soiled.

The man turned to look at Shikamaru. "It's a never ending cycle – using relics," he said smirking at Shikamaru. "I give it blood, it gives me life."

Shikamaru swallowed.

That meant the relic—

The man smiled widely. "I admire your quick thinking though," he said. "Unfortunately, you didn't hit me where you should have hit me."

Lee's jaw dropped.

"And I hate falling for tricks I've already seen before," the man continued.

Before Shikamaru and Lee could think of the next thing they should do, they found themselves in the air – sounds of something cracking and breaking filling their ears. They crashed down on the ground, the impact shocking them with a multitude of burning sensations.

They cried out, feeling the agonizing pain in their limbs.

Shikamaru opened his eyes to see what happened to them. He noticed blood streaming violently from his arms and legs. And to his surprise, his right arm was contorted in a position he didn't think was humanly possible.

He coughed out more blood and cursed.

He hadn't even proposed to Ino yet!

Laughter echoed in the air. "Now we're even," their enemy said, standing in front of Shikamaru. "Well…Somewhat even." He knelt down and examined Shikamaru's wound. "I have to admit I enjoyed your company. So how about I turn you into a friend, eh?" he asked lifting Shikamaru's chin.

Shikamaru kept his teeth clenched, knowing what his enemy was thinking.

"It's just going to sting like hell for a moment," the enemy said, leaning closer to Shikamaru's face – a wide smile revealing his sharp teeth.

Shikamaru swallowed and shut his eyes. He wanted to fight 'til the end but he knew struggling wouldn't take him anywhere at that point.

He expected to feel something – pain, being sucked into a wormhole, being stabbed…anything that would tell him he was getting closer to Death's gates.

But he found himself still on the ground, feeling a swift gust of wind pass his face and hearing a loud growl echo around him.

"Shika-kun!" Ino's voice suddenly filled his senses.

"He looks as bad as Lee," Neji's voice followed.

Shikamaru slowly opened his eyes and saw a blurry image of a blonde woman hovering over him. Beyond her was a dark grey sky.

"Thank goodness you're still breathing!" he heard the irritating voice of his girlfriend ring in his ear. "I you stop breathing anytime soon, I'll kill you! You hear me?"

Shikamaru wanted to roll his eyes. But he smirked and waited for his vision to clear.

The blonde leaned closer to his face though, making it easier for him to see her worried face.

"We're taking you and Lee away," Ino said. "Chouji and Kiba will takeover your fight for now."

Shikamaru forced himself to sit up. It earned him another set of scolding from Ino. But he kept his eyes on where Lee might have flown after the last attack of their enemy.

And sure enough he saw Neji lifting Lee up from the ground.

He felt Ino's breath against his cheek as she wound his arm over her shoulder. It made his nerves protest – unbearable pain surging through his veins, making him wince and utter curse words he always thought were too troublesome to say.

Luckily an ANBU came to assist Ino. They placed him in what seemed to be a makeshift gurney. As they lifted off from the ground, Shikamaru wandered his gaze to the series of explosions he was hearing not far from them.

He saw a massive ball rolling violently on the smoking ground with a giant three-headed dog watching out for any threat on the retreating ninjas.

Could they have noticed the enemy's special skill? Could they have figured out how to stop him?

Could Chouji and Kiba survive?

"I—no," Ino heard Shikamaru call from the stretcher two ANBU ninjas were carrying.

They were lucky they still had enough back up ninjas to salvage Shikamaru and Lee. When Gai arrived in the centers the medic ninjas set up to heal the wounded ANBU guards and said Lee and Shikamaru might be in need of medical assistance, Ino didn't think it meant that the men were suffering from broken limb bones and severe hemorrhage.

She had to admit the sight of Shikamaru's body on the ground resembling a disposed rag doll frightened her.

Heck! She hadn't even forced Shikamaru to take their vows!

But she was relieved when she realized he was still breathing and conscious. The only problem they had to face now was taking Shikamaru and Lee to the hospital on time.

"I—no," Shikamaru called again.

"For goodness' sake, Shikamaru!" Ino hissed, too anxious about transporting them through the streets of Konoha where enemies could already be lurking. "Shut up and save your energy! And don't you _dare_ tell me you love me, because there's no way in hell that you'll die before you give me a child!"

"Mincehm," Shikamaru mumbled.

"What?!" Ino said, staring confused at Shikamaru who was barely able to open his eyes to look at her.

"Mince _him_," Shikamaru repeated. "Chou—ji…"

Ino realized what he meant and sighed. She smirked. "Got it," she said, turning to sprint back to where Chouji and Kiba were.

Before she could leap away however, she felt a cold wet hand grasp her arm tightly.

She looked at Shikamaru's bleeding hand, clutching her arm and raised a brow.

"N—ot _you_," he hissed. "A—NBU…"

Ino smirked. "Aww… You do care about me."

Shikamaru struggled to roll his eyes but found himself falling into a deep sleep instead.

* * *

Sakura stared anxiously at the grey sky.

Was Houren telling the truth? Were Sasuke, Naruto and everyone else in danger? Had she lost her family?

Sakura closed her eyes.

No. Houren was the kind that liked to make fun of things. Surely he was just trying to distract her from the truth that the only way she could be of use was to give up her existence.

But what if he was telling the truth? What if Sasuke and Naruto were _dying_ that very moment? What if Konoha had indeed been wiped out?!

Sakura swallowed.

She had failed them…_All_ of them – her friends, her parents, her teacher, Naruto…Sasuke…

Tears streamed down her cheeks.

What if Houren was right? What if she really didn't have to kill herself? What if Sasuke really didn't need her to die?

Sakura opened her eyes. The sky seemed darker than before.

Seiiki never had grey sky. That was what she recalled in her jumbled memories.

Why was she seeing a grey sky in Seiiki at the moment then? Was something awfully wrong really going on?

Suppose Houren was right. What could she do? How could she help them?

Sakura looked down at her frozen body.

How would she be able to do anything if she was tied to the bed?

Houren? Keiko? Dr. Kaitaro?

_ANYONE?_

Sakura began to panic. Were they still there? What should she do to call them? How would she get herself out of the bed?

* * *

Sasuke watched the ninjas Tsunade lent him for the sealing mission fall on their knees. Their hands clamped their ears. Some of them held their head and vomiting on the ground as if they were suffering from a terrible migraine.

There was no time for him to feel sorry for them though, not when it was the only way to gain advantage in Oda's deadly game.

He watched the ninjas try to grasp their surroundings.

Ten ninjas with the ability to quickly learn and execute a complex sealing technique – out of which Sasuke deduced only five would be able to survive his doujutsu.

One of the things Houren taught him was further controlling his Sharingan's abilities. He taught him how to use his Tsukuyomi not just to influence people's reality and perspective, but also to impart knowledge – train people in one year while they were locked inside the illusion for two minutes.

He was able to teach Keiko how to throw a kunai using the modified Tsukuyomi, but she suffered a severe case of migraine and vertigo after getting out of the five-minute illusion.

What Sasuke gave the ten ninjas was a two-minute illusion confining them into rigorous 1-year training on a foreign sealing technique.

"Stand up," Sasuke ordered.

The ninjas slowly attempted to raise their trembling legs. None of them seemed have enough energy and enough balance to lift themselves from the ground.

Sasuke knew why.

The 1-year training was also supposed to give their bodies the ability to use chakra in a way different from how the academy trained them to use it. What Sasuke performed was supposed to work like an artifact imparting a complex jutsu. While locking them up in the illusion, Sasuke also had to convince their unconscious minds to adjust their body control and functions according to what performing the sealing technique required. It was like forcing the body to open a chakra gate.

That meant the ninjas also had to adapt to the sudden change in their bodies.

Sasuke watched three of the ten ninjas shakily stand on their feet, wincing. Four more were already rising up from the ground.

Sasuke took a deep breath, ignoring the migraine assaulting the inside of his skull. "Do you know what to do now?"

Each of the ten ninjas nodded. Eight of them were already on their feet. The remaining two were on their way to balancing their weight on two limbs.

"Good," Sasuke said. "Proceed to your positions."

The ten ninjas nodded and vanished into puffs of smoke.

Sasuke allowed himself to kneel on the ground and wince. He shakily fished his pocket for a pill that Sakura made to soothe the side-effect of performing the modified Tsukuyomi. His trembling fingers quickly located a box and pulled it out.

Sasuke took one of the four pills in the box and waited for the minty taste of the pill to burst in his mouth.

The pill took effect five seconds after taking it.

While waiting for the migraine to go away, Sasuke looked sprinted up to the rooftops to examine his work.

Sure enough, on the site of the rising smoke was a blue glow – the ninjas were already at work.

Sasuke glanced at the other corners of the entire village. Explosions were rocking the ground from various directions. The village walls were under attack.

"One," Sasuke said, counting the explosions that meant a battle was taking place. "Two…" Sasuke frowned.

He heard another explosion from south of where he was. "Three." Another explosion came from west of his location. "Four."

Sasuke looked grimly at the rising smoke around the village.

How many people did Oda have? How many of them were using relics? How many of them would need the chakra particles from the other world?

Sasuke had an idea on the number of Oda's pawns. And looking at the faint pattern in Oda's plans, he noticed that something still seemed off. Some of the pawns were missing. It was possible that they just hadn't started moving yet.

But then again, it could also mean they were already in their places – they were merely concealed.

Hopefully Sasuke's move still made Konoha one step farther from Oda in the game.

* * *

Hokuryu gazed at the whirl of grey cloud forming in the sky above Seiiki with his fellow elders flanking him. They stood atop one of the mountains, examining the damage that the imbalance in the air was causing.

An epidemic was spreading across the land. If the gaping hole wasn't sealed, genocide would be bound to take place.

"Do you think they can still handle this?" Azumaryu asked, looking at Hokuryu.

Hokuryu kept his eyes on the grey sky. "No," he answered.

"Should we cross the boundary?" Nishiryu asked.

Hokuryu didn't answer. He instead looked down at the gloomy land of Seiiki.

Every plant, animal and insect that brought life to the place suddenly seemed too quiet and down that moment. It was as if they had also gotten sick of the emerging epidemic.

"Isn't that what Oda wants us to do?" Minamiryu asked. "Break the rule we ourselves imposed?"

"But the lives of too many people are on the line now," Nishiryu said. "And not doing so would make him believe we've cowered in fear."

"And playing the game by his rules would be the best thing to do?" Azumaryu asked.

"If we play the game, there's a chance we will win," Nishiryu said.

"If we do that, there's a chance he kills us," Minamiryu added.

"We're not sure that he's uncovered that technique," Nishiryu countered.

"We're not sure he hadn't uncovered it either," Minamiryu retorted.

"You're arguing on who's more frightened," Hokuryu said.

Azumaryu, Nishiryu and Minamiryu looked at Hokuryu.

"I can assure you by your arguments that we are more frightened than Oda," Hokuryu said.

The three elders looked away.

"What should we do now?" Azumaryu asked.

"I suppose we should check on Houren," Hokuryu said. "I gave a feeling he's planning something."

The three elders nodded and changed into their dragon forms.

Hokuryu glanced one last time at the grey sky before changing into his dragon form and leading the three into the gloomy air.

Houren glided down the hallway, deep in thought with the knowledge he had received merely moments before – a knowledge that not only would change the game Oda was playing, but also change the world he was in.

"There you are," Keiko said, anxiously passing down the hallway. "We need hands in the west wing."

"I'll be there," Houren answered – all cheer and playfulness stripped from his tone.

Keiko stopped walking and stared curiously at Houren. "What's going on?"

"Do you sense the elders?" Houren asked.

"I do," Keiko answered. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking of striking a bargain," Houren answered.

"You're going to ask their permission to cross the barrier," Keiko said. "You know they won't agree no matter what you say."

"Indeed," Houren said. "It would be far better to act on a threat rather than just utter it."

Keiko frowned. "Hou-chan," she began. "You're scaring me."

* * *

"You be good here, okay?" Naruto said, patting Ichi's head as he stood at the edge of the door of the evacuation building. "Iruka-sensei will help you look for your family."

Iruka stood behind Ichi, who was looking innocently at Naruto. He also didn't know the boy lived in the village. But he was a child and in such a time, he needed just as much protection as any child he recognized in the village.

"I bet they're just around here somewhere," Naruto continued. "Right, Iruka-sensei?"

Ichi looked up at Iruka. The teacher nodded and smiled at the boy. "We'll find them."

"See?" Naruto said, smiling at Ichi. "I told you! I'll be off now. I'll see all of you later!" he said, waving his hand one last time before running out of the passage that led to the outside world.

Ichi watched Naruto vanish in the dark halls of the cave and soon felt Iruka's hands on his shoulder.

"Let's go inside," Iruka said. "We've also moved Konoha's visitors inside. I bet we'll find your family there. What did you say was your family name?"

Ichi looked up at Iruka. "Everyone's inside?" he asked.

"Yes," Iruka said. "Everyone we need to keep safe is here. This is a safe place."

Ichi smiled at him. "Everyone except for the Hokage is here, right?"

Iruka stiffened – the feeling of something awfully wrong going on suddenly knocking into his thoughts.

Ichi chuckled. "You're very kind, Iruka-sensei," he said. "But you've already helped me."

Iruka then felt a cold chill creep into his veins – freezing him in place. He wanted to gasp, yell, move away — _warn everyone_.

But his body stayed in place and his eyes kept their gaze on Ichi.

Blue smoke soon rose from the ground. It seeped through the walls around Ichi and crept further into the tunnel that led to where the people of Konoha remained safe.

Ichi's round black eyes turned a glimmering shade of silver.

"Excuse me for a moment," Ichi said, smiling at Iruka. He then turned to the dark tunnel ahead of him and spoke. "We now have the people of Konoha hostage."

* * *

"—word that they've encountered another enemy in the east side," Ibiki reported.

Tsunade, and the heads of the ANBU, Jounin, and Chunnin tensely met with the elders in the meeting room planning the next steps the village would take in the unfolding war. So far, all the attacks had been managed.

All the strongest ninjas in the villages had attended to the attacks. Sasuke's plan on sealing the odd smoke seemed to be working on clearing the air. The wounded had been properly attended to, and no fatal casualties had been noted.

A loud knock echoed from the massive door of the meeting room.

Everyone in the room glared at the door.

"Hokage-sama," called someone from beyond the door – most likely one of the Chunnin guards.

"We're in a meeting," Tsunade shouted.

The door clicked open and in went the guard. He closed the door behind him and proceeded to stand in front of everyone.

"I know," the guard said. "That's why I'm here."

Ibiki stood angrily up. "What kind of–"

The Chunnin guard smiled.

Tsunade froze.

The Chunnin guard's body slumped forward and collapsed on the floor, leaving in its place a young man with ash blonde hair reaching his shoulders, clad in a black hakama looking confidently at everyone with his pair of grey eyes.

Everyone in the room stiffened. The ANBU guards quickly positioned themselves in front of the Hokage, and the elders.

"I understand your hostility," the young man said. "Allow me to introduce myself," he continued. "My name is Ni." He slowly bowed to the Hokage, sensing the tension in the ANBU guards' stances as he moved.

He slowly lifted his head and looked at everyone. "I am here to strike a bargain with you, in behalf of Oda."

"A bargain?" one of the elders said, raising a brow. "We've squandered all your attempts to destroy Konoha."

"I prefer 'thwarted,'" Ni said. "But I understand you haven't received the breaking news."

Tsunade looked grimly at Ni. "News..?"

"Yes," Ni answered, smiling proudly at the Hokage. "Ladies and gentlemen, I am here to announce that we now have your people hostage. Isn't that right, Ichi?"

Suddenly the shadow underneath Ni's feet began to jerk like liquid and from it slowly sprung two silhouettes – a young boy carrying an unconscious man on his shoulder.

Ibiki cursed as the light in the room touched the silhouette.

On the black-haired boy's shoulder was an unconscious Iruka – hands tied in chains behind his back.

"Now," Ni said. "Shall we start with the bargain?"


End file.
